


Swordblight

by SpaceMalarkey



Series: Swordblight AU [1]
Category: Linked Universe - Fandom, The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst with a Happy Ending, Blood and Violence, Corruption, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Linked Universe (Legend of Zelda), Manipulation, Self-Discovery, Swordblight AU, Team as Family, Temporary Amnesia
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-02
Updated: 2019-08-08
Packaged: 2020-02-16 06:44:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 30,692
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18686230
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SpaceMalarkey/pseuds/SpaceMalarkey
Summary: It was Revali who finally asked the dreaded question. Zelda looked up from Urbosa’s embrace to see the rito warrior looking pale, shocked. He was staring at the blood covering the ground, covering her dress and her arms, and had come to the conclusion that no one wanted to hear. The blood was not hers.(This fic has been edited slightly)





	1. Birth

She kept going through the horrifying event over and over in her head. She couldn’t help but feel responsible for all of this. If only she had worked harder, prayed harder, listened to her mother’s words. Yet, no matter how hard she wished for another outcome, she would have to live with the reality that her knight was gone, killed in front of her.

Zelda shuddered as she remembered him jumping in front of her, despite being so horribly injured. How he had been fighting so tirelessly to protect her and get her away from the castle, and the horde of corrupted guardians. How he forced himself to stand, even when his side was bleeding, even when he was blinking hard to clear his vision.

How the malice had taken the form of a giant, stabbing through her stubborn knight with a crude blade like it took no effort at all. How Link had gasped, letting a small whimper escape his lips before his limbs went lost their strength, trying so desperately to lift his sword and fight on. How he had lost the fight against himself as his body gave out. 

How that awful pink ash had taken his body away as she screamed his name, feeling a golden light escape her very soul.

She had unlocked her holy power, but at what cost? Link was taken from her. Dead. Gone forever.

All she could do was sink to her knees next to a discarded master sword that now lay broken, covered in his blood.

That is how they found her hours later, bloodied and numb, staring into space and crying. The other champions had thankfully survived, fleeing the divine beasts before the malice could corrupt them and use them against her. Urbosa stormed over, holding her tightly and moving her fingers through her hair in an effort to soothe her. Zelda could hear the question in the air.

Why was she alone? Where was Link?

She could barely breathe, barely think. It had happened so fast. He hadn’t stood a chance and it was all her fault for not helping him.

 

It was Revali who finally asked the dreaded question. Zelda looked up from Urbosa’s embrace to see the rito warrior looking pale, shocked. He was staring at the blood covering the ground, covering her dress and her arms, and had come to the conclusion that no one wanted to hear. The blood was not hers.

Mipha was trembling, tears gathering in those golden eyes.

Daruk was muttering to himself, denying what they all knew to be true. Begging for it not to be true. He couldn’t have lost a brother, he just couldn’t. 

She could feel Urbosa tighten her grip on her shoulders, feel Revali’s intense stare. Zelda opened her mouth, and spoke in a trembling, heartbroken voice.

“He protected me”.

 

* * *

 

_Where am I? Where is the princess? I can’t remember…_

**Your princess left you to die.**

_What? No, no she wouldn’t. She is so good._

**Yet here you are, forgotten and thrown away.**

_No. No, you are lying!_

**They made you swear to protect her with your life. And you did.**

_I- What? I’m… dead?_

**Not quite. Not yet. It is by my will alone that you still draw breath.**

_What do you want with me? Who are you?_

**I am the end of all that has hurt you. I am the purge that will cleanse Hyrule of its oppressive people. I am salvation.**

_You’re… the Calamity. You’re trying to kill everyone!_

**And why should I not? Why should the people who force children to fight their wars go free? Why should everyone get to live in luxury, while they force you to fight their battles for them? Why should a country made from arrogance and tyranny be allowed to go on?**

_You’re wrong! Hyrule isn’t… You can’t decide to massacre an entire country just because…_

**Because what? Am I wrong? If something is hurting you, should you not remove it? If a wolf is biting your arm, would you not kill it?**

_Yes, but…_

**If someone is abusing you, should you not fight back?**

_I… Can’t. That is not for me to decide, I- I don’t…_

**Dear knight of Hyrule, you who have been used by everyone. You who have been forced to fight since you could barely comprehend life. You who have been chosen by the sword, doomed by that awful tyrant of a goddess. Let go of this false sense of duty. You do not owe them anything.**

_I don’t know how… I don’t understand this. You are supposed to be the great evil I’m chosen to defeat. The goddess can’t be the one in the wrong, she can’t. If she is then… Then why have I been fighting this entire time? Why am I here?_

_Why else would I exist?_

**Your soul is screaming in pain. I do not know why even your beloved princess couldn’t see this.**

_You’re right… It hurts. It hurts so much. Why didn’t anyone see it? Why did I think I had to bear this all on my own? Why would they let me go on like this?_

**There is sorrow in your heart.**

_Why would they do this to me?_

**You have been wronged for so long, my dear knight. You have been chained and held down, but no longer. If you let me, I shall free you from your curse, your abusive duty. I shall show you the freedom Hyrule deserves. Do you see?**

_Y-you can do that? Just like that, you can take it all away?_

**Do you wish for it, little knight?**

_Yes! Yes, more than anything._

**You have been used, but no longer. They don’t care about you, but I do. My poor child. I shall heal you, fill the void in your chest. I shall soothe your soul and heal your scars. I shall end this oppressive devotion.**

**Would you let me?**

_Yes. Take it from me. Take the chains from my wrists, and let me fly._ **_Let me show them the errors of their ways._ **

**_“Set me free”._ **

 

* * *

 

Zelda and the champions made it to the castle, hoping to catch the Calamity unaware. The plan was to move quickly, giving the beast no chance to gather its strength after killing their hero. With heavy hearts and hollow chests, the five made it past the patrolling guardians undetected. She could feel death in the air, all those people murdered in the blink of an eye. They never stood a chance, never had any warning or time to get out unharmed. Only a few who lived in the fields had managed to flee to the outskirts of Hyrule. Zelda and her champions had made it past Lon Lon Ranch, now burning and reduced to rubble. Made it past the military outposts, husks of empty buildings greeting them, and bodies littering the roads. Zelda could feel her determination rise with each body she saw. Memorised them all, their faces, or their clothing if there were no faces to be seen. Revali and Daruk had tried to shield her from the sight, but she had insisted on seeing the destruction she had failed to prevent.

For every single person killed, she saw his face. Link. A person she failed more than any other. A person she had wronged for so long.

They had finally become friends.

How was it fair to take him away from her?

 

She felt her body move numbly behind Urbosa, leading them all up the cobblestone road. The air was filled with malice particles, bathing everything in ash and a pink glow. The smell of burned flesh reached her, making her grit her teeth and move faster. She wanted this over with, wanted to destroy the Calamity for taking away so much. There was something ugly twisting her heart. A hatred burning brightly and hotly within her very soul. The divine powers had become hers, at the cost of her friend’s life, and now they were growing, promising a swift end to whomever she unleashed it on first. Zelda longed to see the face of the Calamity as she crushed it under her light. 

They had reached the entrance of the sanctum, where she could sense a concentration of evil, when they heard it.

A voice rarely heard, but so very welcome to her ears, like a song in the gloom. 

“You will go no further”.

She feels her heart leap with hope, yet something feels so very dreadfully wrong.

He shows himself in the entrance, blocking their way. Her knight, sworn to protect her and all of Hyrule. His ruined tunic revealed angry pink markings, slowly creeping over his skin. His eyes are vibrant, glowing blue in the dim light. He reeks of malice.

Daruk jumped in front of them all, fully prepared to protect them, yet he hesitates. This is a sworn brother, someone very close to him. Zelda felt a stab in her heart as she realised for the first time that Daruk and Link had a stronger relationship than she could ever hope to have with her knight.

She heard it in the tremble in Daruk’s voice as he asked Link what he is doing, how he is alive.

Link scoffed, glaring at them as he let the malice overtake him completely, transforming his once lightly tanned skin a sick pink, his golden hair turning a bright red, flowing behind him. His body was covered in broken pieces of ancient armor and in a show of grotesque power, two extra arms stretch from his torso with a terrible crackling sound. He flicked his hands and glowing blue weapons appeared, sizzling with heat. Ancient weapons.

 **“I am Swordblight, knight of Calamity. You will not enter these walls,”** he hissed, rising into the air and holding the glowing swords and spear threateningly at them.

He was no longer her knight.

 

Zelda had no idea what to do. She tried to think over the horrible sounds of her champions losing the fight. How could this have happened? How could her knight, one sworn to protect all of Hyrule let himself be corrupted by the Calamity? Did his vows mean nothing to him? Did he hate her that much? She couldn’t think, couldn’t find an answer that made sense. As Mipha came crashing backwards past her, grunting in pain, Zelda made a choice. She would make a stand here, refusing to be as helpless as she had been her entire life. 

Daruk and Urbosa were trying to force him back, but  Swordblight was too quick and he easily evaded them. Revali’s arrows did nothing to stop him from moving towards the princess. It did not matter. She stood completely still and stared him in the eyes with a determined glare.

“Why are you doing this? How could you let the enemy use you? How could you even think of helping it, when it will destroy everything? How dare you forsake your duty to the kingdom?!” she screamed, anger, frustration, and pain strengthening her voice. If she could just reach him, try to invoke his sense of honor and duty to snap him out of the Calamity’s control, then maybe they could win this.

Yet the Swordblight answered her with just as much anger, and with a passion she had never heard from Link before.

 **“Why shouldn’t I? Why shouldn’t this horrible place be burned to the ground?”** his voice boomed, startling her. He flew at her, but was stopped by Daruk’s Protection, saving her from his spear. **“You oppressive masters, who force us under your control! Why shouldn’t we destroy you? Why should we let your evil reign continue?”**

He was beating at Daruk with a terrifying show of strength, desperately trying to break the shield keeping her alive. His voice grew in volume, sounding like a furious storm. 

 **“Why should I let you live, when you only bring pain and despair?”** he screamed, his voice breaking and trembling in anger and sorrow. **“I was a tool! That is all you ever saw me as. He was right about you, about all of you!”**

She had heard Link speak of his troubles before, but never as openly or as passionate as this. He had barely even managed to speak to her, telling her that everyone’s expectations were so large that he didn’t feel he could even use his own voice anymore. That he kept silent out of a sense of duty, to bear every burden laid on his shoulders. 

She never realised that he had no one to help him stay upright, no one to simply wish for his safety or happiness. Never had anyone asked him if he was alright, or come to his defence, refusing to let a teenager die for them. Link had never understood why it made him feel so bad, because this is how Hyrule had been. He came from a long line of knights, had been taught discipline and obeying orders without question. Had been forced into the role of obedient dog from childhood, and Hyrule and all its people had never seen anything wrong with that.

Forced to lose himself in title and duty. Forced to stay silent, given a weight he could barely carry and call it a blessing and a gift. She never understood how badly broken he had been until that moment, watching as Daruk struggled to keep his righteous wrath contained, Urbosa moving to attack from behind. Mipha raising herself up on trembling feet and readying her spear. Revali diving down from the skies, firing a volley of arrows. All of them attacking him as one. In this moment, she found herself wondering. 

 _How old was he?_  

She had never asked, never bothered to confirm his age. She had just assumed that he was old enough to die for her, as a knight should. Yet when she thought about it now, she could remember little moments where he seemed younger than her. Memories of Link staring longingly at a festival, feet tapping rapidly to keep himself contained and remain by her side. The way his eyes would light up at the mere mention of food. How bright colors seemed to add a small smile on his face. How his face would twitch in jealousy as he watched other children play and have no worries in their life. So very unlike his own.

Swordblight had pushed the champions off of himself and leapt towards her to attack her, likely he planned to run her through with his spear. It felt as though time had slowed down. She could see the terrified look on Urbosa’s face, the disbelief in Mipha’s. The shock in Daruk’s, and the desperation in Revali’s.  
She could see the hatred in her former knight’s eyes, burning brightly as he stared into her own emerald orbs. But the worst was the pain she saw there. Pain that couldn’t be understood. How his eyes looked so confused, almost like a child’s. 

Zelda made a decision, and raised her hand in front of her, channelling all her power and the might of the gods. Swordblight was stunned by a golden light, allowing the champions to pierce his body. He was screaming, writhing in pain and clawing at them wildly before he fell to the ground, malice flowing wildly across his skin. Mipha ran to him, breaking Zelda out of her divine trance. The small zora girl held his head and begged him to breathe, to hang on. The former knight was trembling weakly, gasping desperately and clawing weakly at the ground under him. The princess felt her feet moving, running to his side. The zora princess looked up at her, tears in her eyes once more. Would she have to see her love die a second time? No, Zelda decided. She would not let that happen. Gently, she placed her hands on his chest, concentrating a bright light in her palms. Swordblight flinched and shuddered, but soon he lay still and he was Link once more. Weak, damaged, and in great pain.

He looked so small. So fragile. Words that were never usually associated with the one chosen by the blade that seals the darkness. He opened his eyes and looked up at Mipha. There was a flicker of something in those vibrant blue before he closed them again, frowning and grunting softly.

“Please, hold on. Don’t let go,” Mipha begged, brushing the hair out of his face and letting her tears fall down her cheeks. Zelda could feel dread settling in her stomach. He was too weak to make it. His breath came slower and weaker. Daruk had moved in closer, but stayed behind the group, likely afraid he would injure Link further if he were to hold his sworn brother. Zelda could feel Urbosa stand next to her, a comforting presence. 

“Link…” she whispered, afraid that her voice would snuff out the light that was left in him. He opened his eyes slowly, and with great effort, he moved his head to look at her. He looked so very tired, yet he tried so hard to look at her like he used to. Like the obedient knight he had once been.

Then, he opened his mouth and whispered. Zelda could barely hear him, leaning down to catch his words.

“...orry… couldn’t... “ he managed. Link looked so desperate, and for the first time, she could see his despair. Nothing could have prepared her for his last request.

“Let it end,” he whimpered, moving his hand to grab hers, even if the movement caused him agony. “Please… make it stop”.

She could feel his hand go limp, saw his eyes close and he was gone, lost to purgatory.

Mipha let out a shrill cry, holding Link’s other hand to her face as she let the world know how much they had lost.

Behind them, Zelda could hear Daruk punch the ground in fury, feel Revali’s disbelieving stare. She could see Urbosa’s hand grabbing hers, holding both her hand as well as her lost knight’s, and feel the rumble of her deep voice.

“There is still something we can do,” the Gerudo champion spoke, strong as ever. Zelda looked into her surrogate mother’s eyes, the emerald orbs were steadfast and filled with hope. “He is not lost yet, little bird”.

Mipha had gone silent next to her, Revali and Daruk moved closer.  

“The Shrine of Resurrection” she breathed, stunned.

They could still make this right.

 _She_ could make this right. Own her mistakes and on behalf of the royal family, free the one person who had been betrayed by everyone. She felt something behind her. The Sword. The Sword who had chosen Link as its master. It was glowing, an ethereal voice accompanying it.

_Give him back his life. Give my master his freedom._

She was not about to deny a request from the blade that seals the darkness.

 

What Zelda had not accounted for, was Revali offering to carry Link to the shrine. There was something in his expression, something that twisted his arrogance and self confidence.

Guilt. Regret.

She nodded and gave him the Sheikah slate so he could give to Purah and Robbie when he reached them. They would know how to operate the shrine.

The Rito Confidence let Daruk tie their tragic hero to his back, and flew off faster than Zelda had ever seen him fly. There was a determined look in his eyes as he took off, assuring the princess that he would make it in time to save Link. She didn’t feel a shred of doubt. Revali was many things, but incapable was not one of them. 

She was proven right when she saw him return, landing with an assurance that could only mean they had made it. The look in his eyes and the way his feathers ruffled only proved he had been successful. Finally something was going the right way.

 

The princess of Hyrule looks at each of her champions, all staring back at her with a burning desire to end this. For the sake of Hyrule, and its people. For the sake of their families and their tribes. For their fallen hero, who deserved a better land to return to.

“For Hyrule”, she spoke, voice strong and burning with anger.

“For Hyrule!” the four champions echoed, and together they charged the sanctum.

 

* * *

 

The story was carried on the winds across all of Hyrule. The story of the tragic hero who gave his entire being to their princess before he was taken by malice. How he was sent to a healing slumber beneath the earth, becoming one with nature. People were whispering about the sleeping hero that may yet join their lives. They vow to save him, bless his soul, for he gave everything for them and all they did was take until there was nothing left but pain and suffering for him. Every person who survived the Calamity knew this story, and they passed it down through generations so they may never place such burdens on a child’s shoulders ever again.

They hope that one day, the sleeping youth will awaken, and join life once more. That one day, he may live life like he should, free and happy.

 

One day, a boy wanders into Kakariko village. He looked like he had been living in the wilderness for a long time. His body toned and skin a light tan, obviously a hunter. He spoke very little, yet he smiled openly and happily as the children came to greet him. His hair was a deep red color, and his eyes a vibrant blue, reflecting the pure sky. He was wearing rags and skins of animals to keep warm, something the mothers of the village didn’t approve of. Such a handsome boy should be wearing proper clothing, they decided, as they beckoned him over to the communal baths. The boy seemed surprised by their hospitality, but he accepted new clothing gratefully, burrowing his face into the soft cotton with a content smile. By the time he had washed and dressed, he had the entire village charmed.

An old woman hears the commotion, curious as she sets out on her morning walk. Her emerald eyes settle on the source of the villagers fascination and she gasps.

She could see something the others couldn’t. The aura of light coming from this hunter, the weight of his soul. It's him, she knows. She smiled and beckoned him over. There was no recognition in his eyes, but that doesn't sadden her. 

He deserved happiness, and she would ensure he gets it. Even if it takes her last breath. The old woman swore to grant him that much.

 

In the name of the old gods and the traditions of the koroks, with nature magic mixed with her divine gold, she blessed him and granted him a name, for he had forgotten his.

"You will hereby be known as Link, Child of the Wilds. May all who meet you feel this blessing and greet you as a friend. For you belong not to a single place, as all of the land is your home. May your travels be filled with happiness and fortune". 

The boy, Link, smiled at her. Such a gorgeous smile he had.

The blessing took hold of his soul, binding him to the wilderness.

 

Yes, Zelda thought. This will suffice.

 


	2. Heroes of Old

Nomadic life is pretty nice, Link decides. Definitely a good fit for him. Since stumbling into Kakariko Village on accident all those months ago, he had seen a lot of this world.

He can’t remember anything from before waking up in that strange chamber with the glowing blue lights. He wonders if Hyrule was like this before he woke up there. He had to have a life before then, right? No one just wakes up in a grown body and go about their life.

Yet, he wasn’t like everyone else. He knew this.

He could see and feel things others couldn’t, ever since that old woman in Kakariko blessed him in the name of the old gods. She had called him Child of the Wilds. Maybe that had something to do with it?

Link wasn’t going to walk all the way back there and ask her. That wouldn’t be fun at all! A little mystery makes your life richer, after all.

 

Speaking of mysteries, there are several things Link doesn’t understand about the world and its people. He has wandered a lot, and met so many different people. Some of these seemed to look upon him with familiarity, but he couldn’t say he had seen them before. Maybe they had seen him in passing? Who knew.

 

Aside from the weird sheikah people and the old woman who blessed him, there have been a few others who have seemed to recognise him by sight. When he visited Zora’s Domain, he had been in awe of the beautiful architecture. It was glowing and so very relaxing and pretty. The people were also very accommodating, immediately taking a liking to him. Link knew he wasn’t exactly threatening in stature compared to some of them, but he didn’t expect them all to look so happy to hear him speak.

 

Zora were very impressive looking though, he had to admit. The most impressive were the royal family, whom he actually was allowed to meet. He didn’t think royals had any time for random travellers such as himself, but maybe their culture was just like this?

The King of the Zora was a huge whale, towering over every person in the Domain. His name was Dorephan, and he called him “my boy” affectionately. He had a kind and calm aura, and made Link feel like family.

 

The crown princess was big as well, at least three times Link’s size. She was an orca, sharp teeth glinting as she smiled widely at him. He wasn’t scared of her, for her eyes were a kind gold, and she kept her touches light. Her voice was very soft, and she spoke like she loved everything. Link likes her, thinks back to her when he has a bad day, or is feeling stressed from running away from monsters in the wilderness. Mipha is a soothing presence in his mind.

 

Her brother, on the other hand, was an energetic ball of insane ideas and recklessness. Sidon was a shark Zora, and he acted like it. Big and powerful, rarely bested in the waters save for Mipha herself. Link wonders if all the scars on Sidon’s body is the result of him doing something stupid for fun, or if they are from him being heroic and jumping in the way of attacks for his people. For all the recklessness Sidon possesses, there is an equal amount of love and intense bravery. When Link asked him about it, Sidon said he grew up in a time of heroes. Of champions of valor and bravery. His sister was a constant inspiration to him, but so was another soul he barely spoke of. A hylian whose tragic story gave him the courage to become better, to be the Zora he was today.

 

Link nodded, and felt inspired by this. Sidon was more than he seemed. As was Mipha, even if she scolded Sidon for his recklessness when she was just as bad. Mipha was the kind of princess who would hear about a lynel problem and go take care of it on her own. Link had followed her when she marched determined up the mountain to take care of, in her words, “that bothersome eyesore of a lynel”. He didn’t feel like she should go alone, but Mipha wouldn’t listen to him. They reached the top of the mountain and Link could see the huge beast in front of them. He hid behind a boulder and readied his bow, but had barely any chance to fire his arrows before Mipha had rushed in, trident in her capable hands, and destroyed the beast in a furious show of skill and grace.

 

Link had to admit, Mipha can be a strict person when she wants to be, but the face she made while fighting the lynel was downright terrifying.

He vowed to never make her angry at him. He wasn’t sure if he could survive having that stare directed at him. There is something more in her eyes he can’t fully understand. There is a sadness shining through when she looks at him from afar. Like she can’t ever reach him. He doesn’t know how to feel about that, so instead he focuses on her fighting style, and feels awe and excitement take over. The lynel lies dead, and Mipha is calmly wiping its blood off her skin when Link runs up to her.

He demanded she teach him how to use a spear like that. She looks surprised before she grins widely and releases the most happy and beautiful laugh Link has ever heard.

“Bring a spear and meet me at the main entrance to the Domain tomorrow morning, at sunrise”, she instructs. “I will not go easy on you, just because you are tiny”.

Another thing Link learns about Mipha during his stay, is that she is a ruthless teacher.

 

She looks happy when he takes his leave, kissing him on the forehead. The sorrow in her eyes seem to vanish when she looks at him now.

“You are always welcome here, dear Link. Don’t ever forget that you are loved”.  
“I know”.

Her eyes light up at the sincerity in his voice, and she hugs him one last time before she lets him go.

 

* * *

 

Another person that seemed to know him was the Rito Chieftain, Revali. Link liked the rito. They had the same calming aura as the zora for whatever reason. When he had entered the village, he was greeted warmly by a flock of excited feathers. Five small rito who were so very eager for a stranger to listen to their singing. Link had thought it was just childish innocence at play, but he soon came to realise that the rito were just like that. Calm, soothing and inviting. The fledgelings were interrupted by their father returning home, a big rito with blue feathers and several other colorings mixed in. He looked vibrant, and was easy to spot wherever he went.

His name was Kass, a travelling bard. It was easy to see where his girls had gotten their singing talents from.

The rito seemed to be a musical tribe in general. Even the Chieftain could be found humming and singing softly in the evening sun.

Link is puzzled by Revali.

When he first met him, the rito had given him a hard look, and tensed in a way Link had only seen warriors do when he managed to accidentally sneak up on them. But unlike those warriors, this one seemed filled with other emotions. Sadness was shining in those green orbs, along with regret and anger. Yet there was a strange calm to him as well. Revali had calmed his body language immediately when he heard Link speak, like he had broken a spell over him. He seemed surprised and awed, and found a comfort Link didn’t understand.

The sadness in his eyes would always be there when he looked at the hylian, just like Mipha.

Link didn’t let that stop him from spending time with this old rito. He was interesting, and he bit back in a sarcastic way that made Link feel warm. Is this what having family was like? Maybe.

He liked to find new ways to make Revali’s feathers ruffle in annoyance, liked it when they ruffled in pride, loved it when that pride was directed at him.

 

He spent some time in that village, learning how to sing from Kass and his daughters. Learning the old songs and how to bless the air around him through his voice. Learned archery from Revali himself, who had seen him with a bow and scoffed.  
“While you are not a complete novice with that bow, you are far from a master. Let me show you”, he had tutted, and moved to fix his stance. They spent weeks perfecting his archery. Weeks of bickering and getting on each others nerves. Weeks of Link refusing to stop practicing even as the moon rose high in the sky. Weeks of Revali refusing to let him train himself into exhaustion, picking the smaller hylian up and sinking into his bed with a squirming child wrapped in his wings. Link didn’t know when he started calling him _Vali_ or when he was given the nickname _Little fledgeling_. All he knew was that this felt like somewhere he could return, when his wanderings made him wary and he felt unsafe.

Revali kept an aloof front, masking his true emotions. Like a leader would, someone strong and wise would. But it seemed like his old age had given him the might to show emotion where it was due.

 

Link remembers a night when he was so tired, yet something inside him screamed at him to not stop. That people like him can’t afford to relax. Dogs like him don’t deserve the luxury of sleep unless he has earned it. So he kept practicing, feeling anxiety swell up inside him as he missed the target. He let out a nervous whimper, and cursed himself for showing emotion. _Not like this, not now. He can’t show weakness, or the man will come and…_

He blinks. And what? Who will come? Why is he feeling so compelled to force himself like this? He doesn’t understand.

Link supposes he had been standing there, staring into the air like a terrified child for a while, because the next thing he remembers is warm feathers and strong wings picking him up and carrying him to a nest.

He hears himself whimper a trembling _“I don’t understand, Vali”_ as the large rito wraps his wings around him, shielding him from the world. "Why does it feel like this? Why do my chest hurt? Why does it feel like it will explode if I don't push myself harder?" He is scared, he doesn't understand. Link looks up at the big rito. "I want you to be proud of me. I know I do. Is this what that feels like?" 

It makes Revali’s feathers ruffle, but not in the way Link is used to seeing. This isn’t annoyance, or pride. This is anger.

“No”, the rito hisses, and Link thinks he should feel scared, but the way Revali’s feathers brush over his head in a calming gesture assures him the rito isn’t angry with him. “This is not what that feels like”.

The chieftain pressed him close to his chest and begins telling him a story. His chest rumbles comfortingly as his voice fills their small nest. A story of a young Revali, who thought he had to be the best. Thought that no one in the world would look upon him and see a person worthy of anything if he was anything less but unobtainable. A false understanding of fame, and what it is to be at the top.  
Revali tells him that he was blind, that his obsession made him unable to understand others, and how he had nearly lost someone he hadn’t thought to try and understand. Someone he had wronged, and someone he had thought the worst of, because they had been better than him. How his obsession had made him arrogant and hateful, and that he was almost too late to save them.

He tells Link that he shouldn’t listen to those feelings, for they are evils that belong to another time. They are wrong, and they don’t belong in a healthy life. That life is about being true to one self and find happiness with others, and with the spirits.

 

Link feels his eyes grow heavy, and he looks up at the big rito. Revali looks concerned, but there is something sparkling in his eyes. Concern, protectiveness, pride. Link hopes this is what love feels like. He likes it. He always wanted a family.

He can feel sleep creeping up on him, and he leans his head on the feathered chest and sighs.

“Did you save them, that person?”  
He can feel Revali hug him closer as his mind fills with calm, and darkness slowly takes over.

“Yes, little fledgeling. I did”.

 

* * *

 

The gerudo likes his hair, finds themselves fascinated by its color. He gains a new nickname almost immediately upon walking into Gerudo Town. _Little flame vai_ , they call him, and Link finds himself growing fond of the gerudo culture.

He loves their clothing, swishing in the breeze and lying so delicately over his skin. There is just one problem, or maybe two. Link was told that he wouldn’t be allowed to enter the town because he is a man. The men who told him this in Kara Kara Bazaar seemed to know what they were talking about, so he almost turned around then and there and went on his way, nearly forgetting all about the gerudo and their desert paradise. Another person, a hylian woman, told him to meet her at the top of the inn at night. Link didn’t understand why, but the woman insisted, so he did. The woman introduces herself as Vilia, and she says she can help him get in. Her way of doing this was to sell him a set of gerudo clothing, made from soft material. Some of it was transparent, like the arms and the veil. Vilia made him change into it so she could see and she seemed happy with his looks, saying that he makes for a cute vai. However, Link could see her staring at his left side.

The second problem; scars and the strange burning pink markings that cover his left side. He feels strange, and he tries covering his stomach and torso as best he can, but the heat becomes too much and he faints in the market. When he comes to, he is lying on a bed inside somewhere. A couple of gerudo are sitting around his bed, waiting and discussing why he could have fainted. They seem to know it was from heat, but they don’t seem to understand why he would cover up like this. When they see he is awake, they rush to his side, giving him cold water and slices of hydromelons to eat. They don’t seem to want to press the issue, but one of them, a pale skinned gerudo named Ashai holds his hand in hers and she asks him why he covered his torso with such a heavy cloak.

Link feels embarrassed, but he tells them the reason. That hylians have been staring at his scars and his strange markings. That he doesn’t know where they come from, that as far as he knows, they have always been there. The stares made him think they were something bad, and wrong, so he tended to keep them hidden from view.

 

Ashai asks him to show them the markings, and the gerudo immediately tell him they look like markings of a great battle. They in turn, show him their own markings, battle scars and ink drawn into their skin.

They conclude that the little flame vai must have fought great foes in another life, and that she has been marked by the old gods to forever show the world her conquest. Such a great warrior must be celebrated and respected. She does not need to feel shame, but should feel pride and remind everyone why she is to be feared should anyone dare to attack her.

To the gerudo, this is a warrior vai, and her name is Link.

 

Link stays with them for longer periods of time, feeling accepted on another level entirely by the gerudo. Her skin darkens slightly with the sun's blessing and the gerudo tells her they would have thought she had gerudo blood if not for her height. Link laughs and says maybe. She feels like her spirit is drawn to this place, and the language comes so easily to her that she rarely speaks in hylian around the gerudo anymore.

She becomes an active part of the town, so much that even the Lady Riju asks to speak with her privately. Link is nervous and honored when she makes her way into the gerudo chieftain’s halls. Riju is a child, yet she holds herself with the power and the respect of a proper leader. Link immediately kneels in greeting, showing the proper respects to her, but Riju asks her to stand. When Link asks her why the chieftain of the gerudo wishes to see someone like her, Lady Riju tells her she knows he is actually a voe. Before Link can explain that she doesn’t feel like one when she is here, Lady Riju tells her that because of the way she honors their traditions, and the way she has taken an interest in upholding gerudo culture, Link is seen as a vai like any other gerudo.

She explains that she has observed their little flame vai, and that she is convinced there is some gerudo in her, despite having the form of a hylian.

Lady Riju stands from her throne, and walks over to where Link is standing, asking her to kneel down for her. Link does, and Lady Riju places her hand upon her head and declares her a friend to the gerudo, someone who will always belong here no matter her birth. That they share a culture and a spirit, and that Din has blessed her with the fiery hair of the gerudo as proof. The Flame Vai is one us, she proclaims, and she always will be.

Link stands, and Lady Riju smiles up at her.  
“Now, I hear you are interested in our swordsmanship. As one of us, it would be a shame not to learn from you, as well as teach you our sword dance”.

She shows her to the soldier’s barracks and asks the captain to teach Link all she wants to, and to learn from her in turn.

“Flame vai may look small, but she possesses a might that rivals even the hardiest of the gerudo. Let us see what we can learn from one another”, the captain says, voice strong and unyielding.

 

Wanderlust beckons, Link feels her mind take her beyond the sands, towards mountains and green endless hills. She hugs all her gerudo sisters, promising them she will return with tales of the road, of mighty battles and victories. As she walks past the borders of the gerudo lands, Link is a voe again. A hunter, master of stealth. But now he is so much more. Now he is a blade dancer as well.

 

* * *

 

It was supposed to he a relaxing day for him, a day of complete rest as he winds down from all the intense hunting and focus. It does not turn out that way.

Link is lying on thick branches, high up in a tree and hidden by the green leaves when he hears a crack, and a commotion from below. It sounds like a lot of voices, coming from several people all at once. They are cursing and yelling at each other. Link isn’t sure where they came from, he would have heard if they walked up to the tree, so he leans carefully to the side, allowing him to see through the leaves, yet not be spotted because of his red hair.

Their aura is intriguing. It's powerful, alien, yet it's familiar. It feels like they should correspond to his own aura, he observes.

They have definitely caught his interest.

He stays hidden as he keeps observing these strange people, just in case he is wrong. Living in the wild has taught him to be careful, even if he feels safe. His gut has never been wrong, and his ability to sense auras haven’t either. Not yet, anyway.

 

There are eight people below, all hylian. They vary in size and coloring, but they all share some traits that makes them seem like a big family. They feel… special, somehow.

The one with the deep aura, the one who is surrounded with power that could rival even the strongest of the gerudo, calls for silence. Everyone listens to him and he says they need to calm down and scout the area, to find a campsite near some water. The others quickly split up and spread out, making Link shy away and back to the middle of the tree, where he is completely concealed. He focuses instead on his senses, his hearing and his inner eye to see their auras and see where they are headed. After what seemed like an hour, two of the auras find a suitable spot near a small brook. They call out, and the others move over to them, taking anything edible they can find on the way. Most of it are herbs and they seem to ignore the mushrooms completely. Smart, Link agrees, because they seem unfamiliar and they don’t recognise which mushrooms are edible. They have some survival instinct, it would seem. It didn’t make up for the fact that they were consistently loud, and didn’t seem to mind where they were going. They were leaving tracks.

 

They are funny, he decides, watching and listening from a tree above their camp. They haven’t realised he had moved over there, his stealth must have improved, or they were just preoccupied with other matters.

He hugs a small korok to his chest as they listen to the strange people below. The korok, Tooli, seems just as intrigued and fascinated by these people as Link is. He had always had a strange connection to these little forest spirits, being the only one he had known to actually see them. He hadn’t met these people before though, so he didn’t want to risk Tooli floating down and revealing his position should one of them be able to see her.

Thankfully, this korok seemed to be one of the more discreet ones, for she would whisper and giggle quietly and didn’t fight his hold on her.

“They seem like babies”, she giggled, and Link snorted, nodding. They did. So loud and didn’t know what to do. Didn’t know how to make food for all of them that was actually edible and beneficial. Just like babies. Helpless, in the wild.

Yet they weren’t completely helpless, were they? Link could see their weapons, close by every single one in case of a fight. Could see the way several of them carried themselves, alert and openly listening for any life besides theirs in the little clearing.

 

They have strange names too. Sky, Time, Twilight, Wind, Legend. One was even named after the country they found themselves in. He was the only one of them who seemed at home in the forest, even though he too seemed a bit too hopeless to Link.

The small one, Wind, laughs and leans on the one with the scarf, getting a sideways hug from the taller man. Looking around at the others gave Link a sense of familial love and care between them. They all seemed so relaxed in each others company, despite being brought here in some magical mishap.

Link finds himself liking them, feels his very core bloom with a similar warmth when he observes them. The same feeling he gets from looking at Mipha smiling, the way Revali huffs and pretends not to be proud as his feathers ruffle in happiness, the way the gerudo had opened their arms to him, and accepted the vai in him as readily as his voe side.

Similar to that but… this pull is stronger. His soul is singing.

 

He wants to talk to them, to be one of their number and joke and sing and play pranks on them. To get to know each one of them and love them like a family. He doesn’t understand where this urge comes from, but there is a tugging sensation in his chest, beckoning him closer to them.

He decides to stay in the tree with Tooli, spending the night there. If he moves now, the watch the group below has set up will be suspicious and might not believe him when he says he wants to go with them.

That won’t do.

So Link feels like taking that nap now, asking Tooli to keep things calm for him so he won’t alert the people who he desperately wants to join. She nods an affirmative and settles in his grip, snuggling into his chest.

 

He is awoken by shouts and sounds of battle. This is strange. Normally he isn’t a deep sleeper. He should have been awake before the monsters even had a chance to surround them all.

He huffs, annoyed that he let his guard down. Maybe the strangers have some sort of magic item that charmed his mind.

He watches as they fight, fending off the bokoblins and moblins. Strange, there shouldn’t be this many monsters concentrated in this area.

 

He is startled out of his thoughts when he feels the tree rattle, and hears a grunt beneath him. Below him, pressed against the tree, is the hylian with the fur around his shoulders.

He is being overwhelmed.

The moblin in front of him seems to have taken him by surprise, as well as being very close and much bigger than the hylian man.

The moblin is pressing a massive two handed blade down, trying its hardest to cut the smaller man under it in two. The hylian is strong, holding the blade off with his own, but he can’t keep that up forever, no matter how strong he is. The moblin has started to lean its entire weight on the blade, and is slowly winning this duel.

 

That won’t do. How will Link be able to learn more if one of them dies? He isn’t planning on replacing one of them, that seems rude, and not to mention awkward. 

 

He pulls out his bow swiftly, taking note of Tooli, who has retreated higher up in the tree. Good, he doesn’t want her getting hurt.

With the skill Revali has taught him, he releases two arrows at once, hitting the moblin below him directly in the skull, killing it instantly.

The man in the fur is startled, and looks around in confusion. Link doesn’t have time to make fun of him for it, there is a black bokoblin rushing at one of the smaller ones.

He placed his foot firmly on the side of the branch and kicks off, jumping as far as he can and lands on top of the bokoblin, effectively interrupting its charge. There is a stunned silence that accompanied the gurgling of the bokoblin under him. Link is very aware of all the eyes upon his form.

 

He taps his Sheikah Slate, hanging from his belt and summons his twin scimitars in a burst of light, his bow stored safely away in the ancient tech.

He turns his gaze to one of the bigger moblins, the one who seems to lead the attack, and stares it directly in the eyes as he slices the bokoblin underneath him. It shudders and dies, bleeding out on the forest beneath them.

The moblin seems to take this threat in consideration and roars, charging at him. Link finds himself grinning and readies his blades.

Time to dance.

 

* * *

 

He removes the blade from the moblin’s gut and surveys the area. He can’t sense any more monster auras. The other hylians had taken advantage of the distraction he posed as and managed to kill the other monsters while he was occupied with the moblin. Maybe they weren’t clueless after all.

Link nods to himself, and turns around to see the group of wary travellers staring at him.  

Various expressions of shock and wonder, some of disbelief. Wow.

 

He tilts his head and cocks an eyebrow in response.

All hell breaks loose in the form of shouts and excited raised voices. The sudden noise startles him. He shushes them harshly and waits for them to quiet down. They really didn’t know how to stay alive in the wilds, it’s befuddling. He glares at them, one by one before he opens his mouth to scold them.

“How the hell have you guys managed to stay alive in here for a whole day?”

The youngest of them, a small blonde, speaks up.

“How did you know how long we have been in here?”

_Babies. Babies, all of them._

 

Before he can continue his reprimands, another one, the one with the kind face and a peaceful aura steps forward.

“I think I know who you might be,” he speaks softly, taking Link’s previous words and implications into account. He is standing straight, shoulders back and arms to the side. He isn’t going to attack.

Link finds himself interested, and puts his blades away to show he is friendly.

“You might find this strange, but I am going to ask you one weird question,” the man continues. He stays where he is, a comfortable distance from him, but not too far away.

“Do you know this sword?”

 

He holds up a glowing blade with a purple and blue hilt. The sight of it strikes something in him. Link feels his soul twist, like he should know this blade, but he can’t remember seeing it before. He senses a soul in the blade, softly muttering and glowing. He can’t hear anything, but he knows there is someone there.

It feels familiar, yet completely alien to him. Such a strange feeling. Maybe he knew it in a past life?

 

His confusion must have shown on his face. The hylian in front of him is trying to comfort him, saying it’s ok, that he doesn’t have to answer if he feels uncomfortable.

His eyes shines with sincerity.

What a kind person this one is.

 

“I don’t know,” he finds his voice again, answering the question. “Maybe a past me knew this soul, but I do not”.

Why is he even answering this man? He doesn’t fully know, but the feeling from earlier has returned. The one who desperately wants to stay with them. He wants to reassure this person in front of him, whose aura is so kind and pure.

 

The man sheaths his sword.

“This might sound weird, but please, hear me out. You may call me insane when I’m finished, but please hear my story,” the man asks.

Link nods. Of course he will listen. He loves listening to the wisdom of others, and these people were obviously warriors of some kind. They tended to have the most interesting stories.

He agrees to sit by their fire as the kind one speaks, seated at the edge and at a distance in case he needs to get away. Just because they don’t know how to live in the wild, doesn’t mean he will forget to.

They don’t question his choice but they respect his distance and stay on their side of the camp.

 

The kind one sits across from him, and makes himself comfortable. He warns Link that his tale is a long one, and apologises for the confusion that surely will follow. Before Link can ask him what he means, he begins to speak.

He speaks of old heroes, of legends that has passed down through countless generations. Legends Link remember listening to as the koroks danced, the rito singing, and zora readings.

He speaks of eight heroes being brought together from across the eras, purpose unknown. Of a spirit they share, of burdens they carry together.

 

Link knows he should call them all insane and kill them on the spot. He has seen where obsessive lunacy has taken people and he can hear their insistence that he shares their spirit. If the man telling him all this was anyone else, Link would have thought him the leader of a cult.

His instincts however, tell another story. He can _feel_ their connection, the tugging at his heart and soul.

 

He doesn’t understand how he knows, but he does. Ever since that old woman in Kakariko blessed him, he has been able to feel and even see spiritual energies. Maybe her blessing was real, and she had truly invoked the powers of the old gods after all.

Maybe it was the children of the forest who had gifted him these abilities. He may never find his answer.

All he knows is that his instincts had become sharper, and they could sense deception and ill intent a mile away. Right now, his instincts are telling him that the kind man speaks the truth.

There is just one question that has been bugging him.

“You said you are all heroes, and that you believe me to be one of you, but I am not a hero”.

The kind man smiles.

“Maybe not yet, but we might have something else in common as well. Would you believe me, if I told you all of our names is Link?”

 

“No fucking way”.


	3. Family

Link had the distinct impression that wherever the hell these people had come from, it was not as vast and wild as his own lands. They had decided to stick with him with looks that could only be described as relief when he told them it was okay to join him. One of them even muttered something suspiciously close to "Oh thank god!" under his breath. 

A week of walking with no real destination other than Link's own instincts and preferences. He had no idea what they wanted, and none of them had really expressed any opinions other than "We'll stick with you for a bit while we figure out what to do," which sounded fine, except these people had to be coming from bigger cities or towns. 

 

None of them really seemed to know what they were doing. They were all so very loud, clumsy, babbling about everything and anything in the least favorable situations. 

Link had even watched as one of them talked excitedly about something he didn’t understand as a monster came running at his back. None of the others had seen the lizalfos, choosing to let themselves be distracted by the story. 

He had loosened an arrow quicker than he had ever done before, killing the overgrown lizard swiftly. Stunned silence had followed until Link gave them all a fiery glare and hissing "Oh my gods, pay attention! You’re not back home anymore, you’re in the wilderness!"

 

After that little incident, Link learned how horrible they all were at cooking. They had made camp in relative silence, hushed voices and meaningful glances instead of loud voices. Link was almost impressed. 

That was, until the brunette decided he would make dinner. One glance at the others after that statement taught Link all he needed to know about how good of an idea that was. The youngest was visibly fighting off a shudder, the armored ones looked like they had bitten into something sour, and the short one had stared him in the face and shook his head with a very tight expression. Link walked over to the brunette, and gently yet firmly, told him that he would make dinner because he is the new one, and that he wanted to make up for yelling at them all day by showing them some proper hospitality. 

Thankfully the brunette had let him take over cooking duties, and Link swore he could hear a collective sigh of relief coming from behind him.

 

He made a simple stew, something that the people at the stables had taught him to make. It really didn’t take long, neither was it a strain on his resources, yet the look on everyone's face when he presented them with their bowls could easily fool him into thinking he had graced them with a king's meal. The short one had looked up at him after taking his first bite and Link could swear he had seen the stars shining through his soul. The rest had similar reactions, lighting up and smiling, complementing the flavor and the smell. The one with the pink in his hair had stood up and proclaimed "He can cook! We're keeping him!" with food still in his mouth. 

The one with the blue scarf had nodded, excitement lighting up in his eyes. 

The wolf fur one seemed impressed, but didn’t say anything, and the one with the armor had a small content smile gracing his features as he calmly said they couldn’t just take people from their homes. They had to agree to join out of their own free will. 

Pink hair huffed and muttered something Link couldn’t catch, but it seemed to sour the mood considerably.

 

Compared to the chatter and the loud before, this silence was deafening. It felt so constricting and imprisoning that Link had to fight the urge to disappear and run freely in the wilds. 

"So," he began, catching the attention of everyone. "What am I supposed to call you guys? I don’t think you would appreciate me giving you nicknames, and I figure you already have some if what shiny sword over there says is true and we are all named Link." 

The younger one perked up immediately. Success. 

"You can call me Wind! I’m from the great sea and I’m a sailor, so sometimes the others call me that too." 

The great sea? Link had no idea the sea was that big, though he hadn’t seen all of it before so he had no idea. Maybe he should go sailing. Wind would probably teach him how. He seemed very enthusiastic and willing, not to mention patient enough to teach someone else. 

"You have a ship?" Link asked him, directing his whole attention to the smaller boy, who seemed to relish in the opportunity to talk about something else. 

"I sailed a bit with a pirate ship, but I do have my own! It’s not a ship, more like a boat than anything, but I like sailing on my own so you cant have anything too big or you have no control." 

Link nodded and took a mental note. Get a boat, not a ship. 

"That seems really cool" he admitted. "Maybe you could teach me one day?" 

Wind smiled so wide his face could have split in two. "Of course! you have an ocean here?!" 

Success!

"Sure, there is one out west, but I don’t know how to sail so I don’t know how big it is. The map ends in ocean so I think it’s really big, but I wanna know, you know?"

Oh dear, he had really excited this child now. He was bouncing up and down in his seat. 

"I know exactly what you mean! I actually mapped all of the great sea by myself! It’s so much fun discovering new places!"

A chorus of "yeah" "I know what you mean" and "hear hear!" filled the camp and Link was reminded that there were actually nine of them here.

 

"I'll go next," the one who had told him their story said softly. 

"I'm Sky, from Skyloft. I think I’m the one with the least experience of the surface because I come from a land in the sky."

What. 

"How do you get around in the sky? Wait, can you fly?" Link squinted at him. He saw no wings, but that didn’t mean the other couldn’t have any magical ones. 

"Oh no, I have no wings or the ability to fly on my own," Sky chuckled. "I had a crimson loftwing I would ride on. Imagine a big red bird." 

He sighed, looking up at the night sky with a look of longing. "One day I'll return there, and I'll see my other half again," he said softly.

There was a distinct feeling in Link's heart that Sky would one day get to do that. Return to his dear companion and fly through the skies, happy and content. Something told him he deserved it. 

"I think you will," he said, watching as Sky looked down from the skies and gave him a grateful smile. 

 

Link looked over at the one with the scarf. "How about you then. You look like a soldier."

"Well spotted!" the soldier complimented. "I am indeed a soldier. I am known as Warrior, or Warriors. Honestly these weirdos use the plural sometimes because of my hero title. I hold the rank of captain, so you may call me that as well." 

Dear gods, he even did a small bow. He was really courteous. Definitely a city boy, this one. 

"You seem very young to hold the rank of captain" Link challenged. 

Warrior straightened to his full height. "I suppose I am. However, certain circumstances demand we sacrifice conventional means."

"What circumstances might those be?" the pink haired one snarked. 

"War."

Silence again. This group was odd. First they can’t shut up, and now they are full of heavy silences. It was strange. 

For their closeness, they seemed to not know each others story fully. The road could do that to people, forget their past and focus only on their pure personalities. Only in the present. 

Link took some comfort in knowing he was not the only one ignorant of the past. 

"I haven’t seen war myself, but it has shaped everything around here" he supplied, once again cutting the silence with his voice. 

"Everyone has forces who prepare for anything. As far as I know there hasn’t been a war in centuries, yet the people never stop preparing for one." 

The captain gave him an appreciative look. 

"And they are right to keep such traditions" he said, voice grave and serious. "It can spring up in seconds, escalate before you can react, and kill everything you hold dear before you truly understand the severity of it." 

"Good thing it didn’t overwhelm you, captain. It’s good to hear those words from someone who has experienced those horrors. I'll be sure to pass them on to the people of these lands." 

Link never promised anything he couldn’t do. He would do this, it was important. Not only for this captain who seemed to hide the trauma behind protocol and rituals, but for everyone living. They needed to know their traditions weren’t useless. 

"I appreciate that. I am happy to hear this era is peaceful," Warrior's smile was back, and Link could honestly say he liked his smile more than his serious frown despite wishing they all could be more serious earlier in the day.

 

"Well then, guess it’s my turn" the pink haired one muttered. 

"I am Legend, named that way from my hero title, although that can go fuck itself."

The bitterness in his voice, the way he ground out the word hero like it was killing him. He had seen things, experienced things. It was so very obvious. 

"I have been on a lot of... adventures. Too many to be called coincidence. Not sure why anything I did was called legendary though. Gotta ask this guy" he pointed at the brunette, who seemed a bit uncomfortable where he sat cradling his bowl. 

"Is that why you're such a stuffy snarky mess?" Link grinned. Silence filled the clearing again, this time out of shock. 

Legend's eyes were wide and he looked stunned before a bark of loud laughter overtook him. 

"Oh we are definitely keeping you. I don’t care what Time says, I'll kidnap you myself if I have to"

"Legend, we can’t-"

"Oh shush, we need more fun people around here. You guys are so stuffy and serious and it’s killing my vibe. Seriously why does everything have to be so official and proper and shit?" 

"That’s mean." 

"Oh no, mean. How very horrible for you. You have been through wars and the best you can come up with is mean? The world is mean, Warriors. The world doesn’t care and the goddess doesn’t either. You of all people should know that. Hell, all of us knows that"

The words were striking, cutting. But they didn’t match his body language. He was confusing, a walking contradiction. 

He clearly meant his words, yet he wouldn’t let anyone know that they actually bothered him. Link wonders if Legend speaks this way to try and normalise his own feelings. To trivialise the stress and the horrifying truth of his adventures, so he couldn’t be bothered by them.

 

"I don’t know about the gods," Link began, watching as the attention moved back to him. He was most interested in Legend's eyes though. For all the talking he did, his eyes remained painfully truthful. He was bothered by all of this, his eyes were glued to Link's own in such a desperate way. 

"But I do know they don’t decide everything. If you think they set you on this path, then that is your choice to believe. However, you are the one who decides what to do with your situation. You might have been placed on the road of adventure and hero business, but you were the one who walked it. You could have turned around and gone back where you came from, but you didn’t, did you?"

Legend's eyes widened a little, before he looked away. 

"I guess you have a point, new guy," he snarked, smirk carefully painted on his lips.

One day, Link would get him to open up to him. When it was just the two of them. Legend seemed too young to have such bitter thoughts of the world.

His earlier words seemed to give the others some thoughts. They all had a different body language than before, like they had realised something new. 

The aura in the camp had lightened considerably, and Link felt as though he could breathe again. 

 

He turned to the short man next to him. 

"How about you? You seem more careful and silent than these loudmouths," he snickered, hearing annoyed grunts from the others. 

"I guess you can say that. I am called Four, or Little one, or something like that. It doesn’t bother me. Honestly, these guys are just sour because they cant beat me in sparring."

"That’s because we don't fight people who are as short as you normally!" was heard from Warrior. 

"You're just a sore loser, admit it," Four smirked.

"Why are you called Four?" 

The smaller hylian brought out his sword, its blade glinting in the fire light. 

"Because of this, the Four sword. It’s also my hero title like with the others, but this is the reason why."

He held it with such love that Link didn’t dare touch it. Something was different about this blade. Similar to the shiny blade Sky had shown him, it was alive. Something was stirring within. 

Yet this one was different. It seemed to connect to Four's aura like the blade and the hylian were one being. 

"That’s an impressive blade," he breathed, completely in awe. 

It made Four blush before sheathing the sword. 

"I am also a blacksmith by trade, so you can call me Smithy if you like," he muttered. It was obvious he was flattered, and more obvious that he didn’t know what to do with the flattery.

 

"Well then Smithy, I hope I can commission you for work one day. I tend to break weapons a lot, though my scimitars seem to be more sturdy and properly made than the other stuff I use."

"W-what other stuff do you use?" Four stuttered. The horror in his face was hilarious. 

"Eh, you know, stuff I loot off of monsters and such. People here tend to make weapons themselves but I have no such skill so I just take what’s available."

Silence. 

Again.

"What?!" Four screamed. 

"Oh my god, I knew he was too competent to be real," Legend laughed. 

"He seemed a little too perfect, I have to agree," Warriors muttered.

"You're like a land pirate!" Wind grinned.

Sky snored.

 

The brunette giggled. "We also call him sleepyhead sometimes. He doesn’t know, or he doesn’t really care. I don’t know. Uh, I'm Hyrule. Weird name, I know. Again it's my hero title so that’s why they call me that. Sometimes they also call me Wanderer though. I’m not really a hero, I didn’t get a sacred mission from someone regal or divine, I just happened to be at the right place at the right time. Just surviving and going treasure hunting, you know?"

Link nodded. He could respect that, and better yet, he understood that perfectly. Surviving was the hardest thing to do, after all. 

"A good name as any though," he said, smiling at Hyrule whose nervous twitching ceased and his shoulder drooped in relief. 

"I’m glad you think so. I don’t know why I was so nervous to tell you. Everyone else seems to have more to their story than I do, and I seem to have had an easier time with my adventures than them. I feel a little out of place, you know?"

"That’s not true! You're awesome, Hyrule!" Wind shouted and jumped into the brunette's lap. 

Of course Hyrule hadn’t anticipated a ball of excitement flying at him, so they both tumbled backwards off the log he was sitting on, bowl flying through the air.

The two heroes giggled and tried to get up relatively unscathed. They brightened the mood considerably. 

"Just don’t let him cook. We should call him the biohazard, honestly," Legend snickered. 

"Hear, hear!" Warrior chimed in, laughter picking up in the camp.

 

With the mood restored, Link looked over to the two remaining heroes. They sat close together, and honestly they had a more somber mood to them. Their auras were darker than what he had seen on the others. For as much as Link would have wished them all to be quiet and serious, he didn’t want them to feel like this. 

The one in the fur seemed to brood a lot, and the armored one made him feel uneasy. 

Fur guy cleared his throat before speaking. 

"I'm known as Twilight. I was raised in a small village and I work on a farm, so some of these guys call me farmhand or stableboy or stuff like that." 

"We should be calling you strongman, honestly. How do you lift stuff with no magical enhancements?" Warrior smirked.

Twilight gave him an unimpressed stare. 

"By working out, city boy."

"Oh no, you two are not gonna do the city boy vs country boy thing again I want to sleep tonight," Legend snarked.

Twilight didn’t elaborate further, and honestly Link didn’t want him to. He had no idea what it was, but something about Twilight's aura was... tainted. There was a secret there that promised pain and darkness, and Link didn’t want to mess with it. 

He let the camp quiet down a bit again before turning his attention to the last one. The one in the armor. The one that made Link's instincts flare up and scream at him to run.

"I'm called Time," he simply stated. 

Silence followed, until Wind popped up from behind Link with a smirk. 

"We also call him Old man, because he is old."

Time gave Wind an unimpressed look, but it did nothing to stop Wind from talking. 

"We have no idea how old he is though. He keeps making comments about how he isn’t as young as he used to be. He's like a grandpa."

"Well, this grandpa needs his sleep. He doesn’t have the energy like the children anymore. Which also reminds me, Wind you are first watch since you are so full of energy and life and young."

The smirk vanished from the boys face so fast Link wasn’t sure it had ever been there. 

"What? Oh, come on! I’m tired!"

 

Link felt amused by Wind. He was really cute and it was great having someone who didn’t take everything seriously whenever Time was nearby. It helped ease his flight instincts considerably. 

"Link, how do you do the watch thing when you travel alone?" he asked. 

Once again, he has the attention of the entire camp. 

"I don’t," he answered truthfully. "I sleep in trees usually, or I have a few korok friends that are willing to keep an eye on me."

"Koroks! You have them too?" Wind's grin was back, just as excited as before. 

"You can see them? I haven’t met anyone else who can see them yet," Link felt himself smile. He wasn’t alone! 

"Yeah, one of them turned out to be a sage!"

Before Link could ask more, Time interrupted them. 

"You can tell him that story tomorrow, little sailor. It’s late and we should all go to sleep."

He had a point, of course. The moon was rising high in the sky and they all looked tired. 

"Ugh, fine," Wind sulked before walking off with a small smile towards Link that promised he would tell him about his koroks. 

Link stifled a yawn and walked over to a suitable tree, climbing it quickly. He made a small bed of leaves before retrieving his blanket from the slate and curled up under the safety of the green and the breathing of 8 other people nearby.

 

The next morning, Link was awake before any of the others. Legend was the last watch, making his rounds around the camp as Link jumped down from the tree. 

"Holy-!" Legend yelped, jumping away from the tree, his sword already out. "Don’t do that, dear goddess!" 

Link grinned. 

"Sorry snarkypants," he giggled. 

Legend was silent for a few moments before responding. 

"Man, this early? You must be insane. If I could sleep all day, I would have," he grumbled. "Anyway, would it be too much to hope for you to make breakfast too?" 

"Sure, I should have some breakfast items on hand."

Legend nodded and muttered a thanks before continuing his rounds. If Link saw a little bounce in his step, he would never tell.

 

Most of the camp had woken up when Link returned with firewood. They were in various states of bed hair and yawning. He made his way over to the fire pit and was delighted to feel Wind sitting down next to him. 

"Oh, are you making breakfast?" he eagerly asked. 

"Sure I have some supplies" 

"Yesssss," Wind punched the air above him like it was a personal victory that Link was cooking for them. He was really cute. 

"Any of you have any allergies I should be aware of?" Link asked as he brought out his slate. 

"I think Hyrule is allergic to strawberries, but other than that we haven’t really encountered any allergic food yet," Warriors had joined the circle around the fire, warming his hands and making sure his scarf was tied around his neck properly. Not a hair out of place.

Link had no idea what strawberries were, but he didn’t have any so that was a good sign.

"Hm, how about some fried egg and rice?" he suggested as he started tapping on the slate. 

"That sounds amazing" the captain sighed, smiling gently. 

"Yeah, I would like that too!" Wind chimed in. 

With that decision made, Link tapped on the ingredients, letting them appear in his hands in that blue light he was so used to. 

"Alright, give me a few minutes and it will be ready-"

"What was that?!"

"Whoa! COOL!"

Warriors and Wind both stared at him with wide eyes of excitement. 

"What? The Sheikah Slate?" he asked, stunned at their reactions. No one he had shown this to had such a violent reaction. 

"Is that what that is? That was really cool! Do it again!" Wind demanded.

"Is that some sort of magical inventory?" Hyrule had joined the commotion. 

"It has to be magic, what else could do that?" Legend, clearly interested, yet trying to not react with excitement. 

"I have never seen such an item before" Four muttered, seating himself on Link's other side. 

"It seems very useful!" Sky chimed in, smiling in that gentle way he always did, completely at ease. 

 

Twilight and Time had joined them as well, choosing to silently wait for Link to speak.

"I don’t know exactly how it works. I have been told its a mix of sheikah technology and korok magic. It stores all my things and it also has a map. It can take pictures too! True to life images that beat paintings any day." He watched as they all came to terms with the information. Time and Twilight just nodded, satisfied with the amount of knowledge. Sky and Four nodded. Link could see they had more questions but wanted to wait a bit before they spoke up. Warriors, Legend and Wind all seemed to struggle, not knowing which question to ask first. Hyrule seemed to do it for them. 

"How much can you store in there?" he asked, staring at the slate. 

"Well, I have a bunch of arrows, I have a few outfits in here, a lot of food, gems, stones, flint, ingredients for elixirs, weapons... It can hold a lot of things."

"Where can I get one?" Legend was vibrating in his seat. 

"I have never seen you this excited," Warriors muttered. 

"I don’t know. I have always had this, and even the people I have met haven’t seen it before. There are tons of sheikah ruins and shrines around, so maybe there are more of them? I don’t know, sorry." 

"Ah well, I can manage, don’t you worry," Legend smirked at him. 

"Yeah I bet you do, you damn hoarder," Warriors grumbled.

"Pictures? Like pictographs?" Wind asked as Link stirred the rice and the eggs. 

"Pictographs?" 

"Oh, I can show you!" Wind ran over to his pack and came back with a few pieces of paper. They looked very similar to the pictures the slate was able to make. 

"Yeah, I guess they are the same thing!" Link grinned. More things he had in common with the little ball of energy. "I'll show you some after I finish breakfast, ok?"

"I'd like to see some as well," Hyrule piped up. 

"I'd like to see this map of yours after breakfast," Time requested. 

Link had to force his muscles to relax. 

"Sure, can’t hurt to know where you are," he replied, feeling tense.

 

As they ate, Link showed off some of the pictures he had taken. The others seemed to enjoy them, complementing the colors, the angles, the beauty of his world. He was really starting to feel more accepted and at ease with them compared to when he first met them. Something had told him they were connected, and he found he had something in common with most of them. 

Time had taken one look at the map and come to the conclusion that they were definitely in a new Hyrule. 

"It’s bigger than what we have seen so far," he muttered and politely asked if Link could help him navigate the map. 

After a few minutes of orientation, Time had thanked him and called the others to attention. 

"We have to figure out what to do now," he said. "As Link here has already said, he is no hero, and he doesn’t know of the sword. He might not be the one we are looking for."

"But his name is Link," Four spoke up. "And he seems to be in possession of rare items, as well as his fighting skills and love for adventure being a similarity between all of us."

"Fair point, but we have no way to ensure he is the one the goddess wants us to look for," Twilight stated. 

"Honestly, I have no idea how to ask either. The sword has been silent ever since we came into this world," Sky muttered as he held the sword tightly in his hands. "I wish she would speak again, but I have been hearing nothing but whispers since she sealed herself in the sword."

 

"Your goddess brought you here?" Link wondered how that could even happen. 

"We believe so. Divine powers have been the reason for all of us being born with the Hero Spirit. Or that’s the theory anyway," Legend answered, voice void of that earlier snark. 

"Like you said, I am no hero. That doesn’t mean I can’t try to help you while you are here though. Maybe some proper rest would do you good. Make you think of a different way to find what you are seeking."

The heroes all seemed to be mulling over the suggestion before Warriors decided to take charge. 

"Where do you suggest, Link?" 

"Well, we are not far from Death Mountain. It’s just north of here and I know for a fact that the gorons have a good method of relaxing. Maybe they can even help you with your missing hero problem? Their elder has lived a long life after all. Maybe he knows something." 

Link watched as they all thought it over, and one by one they all seemed to accept the idea of relaxation. 

"Well I think it’s already settled, but I want to hear everyone voice their opinion anyway. What do you say, do we want to go to the mountain and meet the gorons and possibly get some proper rest?"

The enthusiasm was back, and all of the heroes responded positively to the idea. Even Time and Twilight seemed happy about the thought of some rest. 

"That’s settled then. Let’s finish packing and be on our way!"

 

Link had been so excited about the thought of meeting the gorons again that he had completely forgotten what a bunch of whiny bitches the heroes could be. 

"Are we there yet?"

"My feet hurt"

"It’s too hot!"

Honestly, how could he have forgotten. 

"What the hell is that?!" was the one that he decided to actually entertain. 

"It’s just a talus, calm down," he said, apparently too casually for the rest to comprehend. 

" _Just a talus,_  he says."

"Are you sure he isn’t one of us?"

"Hey... the huge flaming talus thing is coming at us. What do we do, Link?!"

Link grinned. 

"Not a big deal, you just have to be faster than it."

"Faster than it? What do you mean? Link? LINK, WHY ARE YOU RUNNING AWAY?!" 

"I TOLD YOU TO BE FASTER THAN IT!"

"HOLY SHIT!"

"WHY!"

When they had reached relative safety, the others rounded on him immediately. 

"What the hell was that?"

"One of us could have caught fire, Link!"

"No, you wouldn’t. I gave you all fireproof elixirs before we started this climb."

"That isn’t the issue here, man."

Link smirked. 

"What, can’t handle the heat?"

Pause. 

"Oh god that was terrible."

"Fuck.”

"God damn, we are in mortal danger and he makes puns? Are we sure he isn’t one of us? He’s crazy enough to be!"

"Oh lighten up, we're nearly to Goron City," Link laughed and continued the climb. The others followed reluctantly, but they didn’t complain. That was a win in Link's book, honestly. 

 

The previous sullen mood was forgotten when they saw the entrance to the city. 

The goron standing guard at the entrance waved at them with an enthusiastic "Brother!" which Link echoed back at him. He could feel the others eyes on him as he ran up to the goron, bumping fists with him. 

"How is the road, brother?" the goron asked him. 

"I seem to have picked up a gang of tired travellers. I was hoping to speak to Boss about some stuff. Is he well?"

"Boss' back has been acting up again. He is in his house recovering. He has been asking about you lately, so I think it will do his spirits good to see you."

Well then, why wait? 

Link motioned for the others to follow and made a beeline towards Bludo's house.

"Big Boss!" he shouted the moment he saw the old goron. 

"If it ain't the Little Ruby!" Bludo replied and made to stand up from his chair, only to collapse back into it and howl in pain. 

Link ran over to him and helped him sit properly. 

"Honestly, you need to take your medication and get some proper back massage," he scolded. 

The goron elder laughed gruffly. "And I suppose you will do that for this old man, will ya?" 

"No, I’m too small, as you keep reminding me."

Bludo kept laughing, a clear sign to Link that the old man had no intentions to do what he had asked him. Ugh, old people. 

"So who're yer friends? They all look related if you ask me." 

Link turned to look at his forgotten companions. They all looked slightly horrified and worried, except for Wind who immediately jumped at the opportunity. 

"Well spotted, old man!" he loudly proclaimed. "I am the eldest brother!" 

Silence, accompanied with several looks of annoyance from the others followed that proud statement. Wind even puffed out his chest, standing in his toes to appear taller. 

Bludo barked out a loud laugh. 

"One of you have a sense of humor! I like you, kid!" 

Wind beamed.

"Damn it, missed my chance" Four muttered. Sky pat him on the shoulder with a soft "next time, buddy."

 

"So, Boss. From my understanding, these are all heroes of the past eras. They are all called Link too, which is bizarre as hell, but hey what can you do. The funny small one that you are probably replacing me with in your mind right now is Wind, the other small one is Four, the snarky one with the pink in his hair is Legend, the nice one with the soft baby face is Sky, the one with the scarf is Warriors, the brunette is Hyrule, the guy who insists on wearing fur while being in a volcano is Twilight and the armored one's Time."

The heroes gave a little wave or nodded their head politely as they were mentioned. 

"Guys, this is the Big Boss of the Gorons, Bludo. Also known as old man, old fart, blind old fool-"

"Oh hush, you're the only one who calls me that."

"Not true! Even Yunobo calls you old fart, you old fart."

"You're lucky I like you, Little Ruby" Bludo chuckled. 

"Or what?" Link challenged, smirking.

"Or I'd have to disown you."

Link gasped dramatically. "Disown me? Oh, the horror! The doom!"

He loved the sound of the old man laughing at his antics. 

 

"Anyway, Boss, the guys here are looking for some answers and since you are so old I imagine you might know a thing or two. Also I wanted to go to the hot springs" 

"Figured you do, you are obsessed with those watering holes," Bludo made an attempt to swipe at Link's head but couldn’t reach far enough. 

"That’s because they are amazing! Why don’t you use them more often? They should help your back, old man," he pouted. He really didn’t like seeing the old goron in pain. 

"Bah, not you too! I have enough young'uns worryin' about me, I don’t need my Little Ruby to worry as well. Im fine. I have been living a great life already, no need to worry your little head over it." 

This time, Link leaned into the hand coming at him, ruffling his hair affectionately. 

"I know. I wont stop worrying though." 

"I had a feelin’ you'd say that."

 

"Hey, Boss, where's-"

A loud explosion could be heard from the outside. 

"Ah, I think he is over wherever the bombs are going off?"

"You'd be right about that. He should be back here in just a few. Now, what can I help your friends with? Entertain an old man, will ya?" 

Time chose this moment to speak up, crossing the floor to properly greet the goron elder. 

"We are looking for the hero of this era. We believe that the goddess is uniting heroes from across the ages for something and the sooner we find him, the sooner we can fix whatever mess the divine powers have made this time."

 

Link stepped away from the chair and chose to instead wait at the entrance for any sign of his friend. Some of the other heroes joined him.

"Who are you waiting for?" Wind asked, choosing to stand next to him. 

"My friend. He is the grandson of a goron hero, and he has this cool ability that helps in the mines and such. I promised him we would go to the hot springs together the next time I was in town, so-"

He didn’t get to finish the sentence before he spotted a goron walking towards the house wearing a light blue scarf around his neck. 

"Yunobo!" he yelled, excitement taking over his body completely as he ran down and jumped into a massive soft hug. 

Yunobo seemed surprised and delighted to see him, hugging him back instantly and lifting him further up. 

"Link! When did you arrive? Have you been well?" he spoke so fast it was hard to keep track of everything. 

"I found a bunch of weirdos in the forest! Some of them are talking with Boss now, but I think the rest of them would like some relaxation time. Hey, are you done working for the day? Can we go to the hot springs?" 

Yunobo's eyes lit up. 

"Of course we can go! I was just about to leave for a walk but we can go take a dip! Your weirdo friends can come too!"

Link let go of the soft goron and turned to the others. "We can go to the hot springs now if you want! Time and Twilight can join us later, it’s not too far from the city."

That had them all come running. Warriors stayed behind to hear what the elder had to tell them and promised he would drag the other two with him later. 

 

Where they had complained earlier, the gang now spoke with excitement and wonder as they looked around the trail and admired the view from the mountain. 

Four even pointed out the talus, having found some new unfortunate victims to harass. Yunobo and Link walked in front, carrying some towels and other cloths. After a bit of walking they reached the hot springs. The steam could be seen all the way from the city. As soon as it touched skin, all the hylians sighed contently. 

"I know, right?" Link smiled as he started undressing. 

Yunobo had already gotten in the water, relaxing and commenting on how nice the heat felt. The heroes were quick to remove any clothing they wouldn’t need and got in as well. Link seated himself next to Yunobo and asked him about recent affairs since he last visited. Yunobo had surprised him with the news of getting a promotion. He had become more assertive and bossy in the workplace since they last spoke and it made Link feel so very proud. 

In turn, Link told Yunobo about the heroes and finding them randomly in the forest. 

 

"Hey, if your friend ok?" Yunobo asked with concern, gesturing to Sky who looked like he would fall asleep face down in the water. 

"He's always a bit sleepy, but I think the heat is making him even more so. Hey, Sky? Here, take this." He handed him a cloth and gestured to his forehead. Sky took it gratefully and placed the somehow cool cloth on his forehead and leaned backwards, resting against a sturdy rock. 

"Thank you," he mumbled before falling asleep.

"I wish I could tie my hair up like yours," Legend commented, leaning back and closing his eyes. He looked more relaxed than Link had seen him. Even while laughing, Legend didn’t look as serene as he did in that moment. 

"I could braid it away from your face if you like? It should be long enough for that." 

"Only if you want to," Legend muttered, clearly tired, yet also clearly interested in such a favor. 

Link moved over to him and started braiding his hair. Legend kept still until he softly spoke once more. 

"We all got scars. You don’t have to hide yours."

He was referring to the scarring on Link's left torso. What made them different was the weird dark pink markings that seemed to flow out of the worst of the scarred tissue. Almost like there was dark pink ink inside him that threatened to spill out if the cut had been any deeper. 

"I’m not trying to hide them, they just... feel weird. I have no idea how I got them," he decided they were worth the truth. He was way too content to lie. 

 

"Did you tattoo those?" Four asked quietly. 

"No. I don’t know why they look like that. The gerudo told me that they have to be a sign that I fought great battles in another life, and that they show others that they shouldn’t mess with me. I don’t know about that though. Might be a cultural thing."

"Gerudo, huh. From what others have told me, gerudo live in the desert and they are all women. In most cases at least. Are you part gerudo? Your hair is the same color as theirs, and your skin is tan. Obviously you know their culture as well."

"I don’t know. Maybe I am? I speak their language and they accepted me as one of their own despite me being physically male. There is a lot I don’t know about myself. All I know is that I woke up like this and I was taken in by other people so openly. The Zora princess taught me how to use a spear, the gerudo taught me their sword dance and of their culture. The gorons accepted me as family, like I never were a stranger to them. I don’t know if it's the people of this world being hospitable or if there is something weird about me."

"Definitely you," Yunobo chuckled before adjusting in his seat. 

"Oh hush. If I’m the weird one then I fit in here perfectly. You blow yourself up for a living."

"True," the young goron laughed. 

"All done, your hair shouldn’t bother you anymore."

 

Legend seemed to snap out of a trance as he gently touched his hair. 

"Thanks. This helps."

"Aaaaw you look so pretty now, Legend" Hyrule cooed, poking his senior in the side. 

"Damn straight I do," Legend bragged, puffing out his chest. 

Wind moved to lean on Link. "Can you play with my hair too?" he asked, looking up at him with pleading eyes. 

"Your hair is too short for braiding, but I can put the back up in a few pigtails, yeah?" 

Wind nodded enthusiastically and turned to give him better access. 

Link tied his hair up in twin pigtails before allowing him to lean back on his side. He felt his hand move automatically up to rub Wind's hair as he focused on Hyrule and Legend talk about pretty things they had found on their adventure. He didn't notice when Wind fell asleep leaning his cheek on his chest, completely relaxed.

Later, he would revisit that moment in his memories, and wonder what made him do that. Maybe it was the hot springs in general, creating such a relaxed and nice environment. But that couldn't explain why he would rub the younger hylian's head so affectionately.  Nor did it explain why he had felt so comfortable letting him lean on him. 

Distantly, something was tugging on his mind. A forgotten memory of something small and blonde. He couldn't tell if it was a memory of something he had seen, or something he had once done himself. 

All he knew was the overwhelming feeling of adoration that followed.

 

The last three heroes had joined them later, bringing cold drinks with them. Link had retrieved a great frostblade from his slate to keep the cloths and the drinks cold. 

"The gorons from my time also have hot springs," Twilight had breathed, letting all the tension in him bleed out the moment he hit the water. "Gorons sure know how to relax."

"That they do!" Warriors agreed, sinking down as far as his chin and letting himself become one with the calm water.

Even Time seemed in a better mood, sipping on a cold drink and leaning back on the stones. 

Link still kept Wind close, making sure he didn't overheat in his sleep. He had placed a cold cloth on the younger's head and changed his position so he was lying down more comfortably. 

He didn't like the way Time kept staring at him. Made him feel uneasy. Twilight had joined the ranks of the sleepers almost immediately, softly snoring. 

That made Sky, Wind, Twilight, and Hyrule part of the sleepers. Yunobo was chatting with Warriors and Legend about something, which made Link and Time the only ones not participating. Link hoped Time wouldn't focus on him, but of course he did. 

He felt so awkward.

 

"The Boss told us some rumors," he began, his one eye demanding Link's undivided attention. Well, he had it. One does not piss off a person with the aura of a god, after all. 

"People have gone missing in the gerudo desert."

"What?" Link felt shocked. People have gone missing and he hadn't heard about it?

"According to the rumors, they didn't just get lost, they were taken. More than just a couple of travellers. Some merchants, some pilgrims, some even gerudo warriors. Do you think we could go there? No matter our mission, we always help the people first.

Time gave him a look of utter conviction. The look of a hero who could promise salvation with his eyes alone. 

"If people are in danger, I will do what I can to help," Link replied. "The gerudo have been so kind to me. They mean so much to me, and if anyone is hurting them, I will find them and end them," he promised. 

Time must have seen something in his expression he liked. He smiled, and nodded. "Thank you. You didn't have to put up with us. I know you have been annoyed by our presence earlier. You might not be the hero we are looking for, but you have the heart of one."

It was strange. When he had first seen Time, he had been afraid. The overwhelmingly powerful aura that radiated from him had been enough to nearly make him flee in terror. Now though. 

Now Time seemed like any hylian. Ordinary, calm, simple. How a man could change so fast was honestly impressive. Link found himself actually feeling comfort in his presence and his words. He didn't have the urge to throw himself off the mountain to get away. How odd. 

They stayed there for a little while longer before waking up the others and moving to the inn. They had to plan their route the next morning, Link making breakfast again due to the pleading eyes of not only Wind, but Hyrule and Sky as well.

 

He could get used to this, he thought as he carried Wind on his shoulders across the grassy fields of Hyrule. As he watched Legend and Warriors making stupid bets. As Time gave Four a gentle nudge and a proud look. As Twilight watched Hyrule like a hawk, ready to grab him and steer him on the right course in case his wandering instincts took hold of his legs and carried him off to gods knew where. 

They felt like a family. A weird family brought together by divine powers across several thousands of years. Link found himself wishing he could be the hero they were looking for. Wishing he would be so blessed as to join their ranks and their quest. He hoped they didn't have to leave right away. He hoped they could stay longer so he could play with Wind, go exploring with Hyrule, take cat naps with Sky, commission Four's work and marvel at the blades he was capable of making, go hunting with Twilight, watch as Legend and Warriors made stupid bet after stupid bet. 

Being praised by Time and told how proud he made the old man. 

 

It was such a strange urge. He had never felt so connected before. It was like his soul was singing when he was sparring with Sky (and losing). When he wrestled with Wind, when he made food for them all. He felt like he had found the missing piece to the puzzle of his life. 

It felt like his soul was breaking when they reached the roads near Kara Kara Bazaar, taking statements from travellers and hearing about people being taken even in broad daylight. 

It felt like his soul was shattered when he and Twilight, exhausted after hunting for game, returned to a ravaged campsite. 

Clear signs of struggle, blood covering the sands and the stone, a broken mask lying in the middle of the chaos. 

A white mask, painted with an eye with a tear flowing upwards. The inverted sheikah symbol. 

Link knew who had taken his people, knew who was behind these horrible crimes. 

As soon as he found the Yiga hideout, he would tear them all apart.


	4. Swordblight

The air has changed. 

Normally when Link finds himself in the desert, the winds greet him as an old friend. Promises of friends and a sense of belonging breathe through the very essence of the lands. The smell of warmth and comfort greet him, and he feels safe. 

This is not what this is. 

 

As he and Twilight pick up what little they can salvage from the destroyed camp, an icy wind picks up. It chills his very soul, feeling like his heart is about to freeze over and break into a thousand different little pieces. 

Like he will never feel happiness again. 

Link chances a peek at his companion, and finds that Twilight hasn’t noticed. He is growling and sniffing the air, but he doesn’t seem frozen like Link is. 

For the first time in his life, Link feels truly scared. He feels the anger burning in his stomach, and the icy fear that grips his heart. He is caught in two opposing storms of emotion, and when the storms have raged and torn him apart, they leave him with an aching sense of loss and despair. 

 

Twilight breaks him out of his stupor, placing a firm hand on his shoulder. His hand is warm. His expression calm, yet set in a grim determination. 

Those eyes find his and they seem to see the true him. Holds his gaze and calms the raging storm inside. 

"We’ll find them," Twilight says, softly but firmly. "We'll get them back." 

A promise, one that the other intended to keep, even if the world's end was to come crashing down on them any minute. 

Link found himself grounded once again, and he nods, not trusting his own voice. They will find them, but in what state?

 

Finding the tracks is harder than any of them thought. The sands are moving, shifting and dragging any trace of their prey across vast seas of gold. The sun is setting, bathing everything in a deep orange. Twilight has been acting more frantic as their search continues. His frustration is growing and his body language has become harsher, bleeding his worry into quickened breathing. 

Link can see his aura change. The once calm and comforting shades of twilight in him are turning, twisted by his anxiousness and distress. He sees uncertainty in those normally calm waves. 

Link is about to call out to him when he senses something else. Something so massive and intrusive it attacks his senses and leaves him on the ground heaving, gasping for air. 

 

Twilight is next to him in an instant, wide eyed and concerned. 

"Link? Whats wrong?" he yells, grabbing hold of his shoulders and holding him steady. 

Link tries to respond, he really does. The other aura is overpowering him and making him choke on his words. Gathering his strength, Link chooses to answer his companion by pointing weakly in the direction of a barely visible valley. 

Twilight's eyes follow his finger, and he glares at the entrance to the narrow valley. 

"Are you sure?" he mutters, holding Link closer as if to shield him from the onslaught. 

Maybe it was working, maybe he was imagining it. Whatever the case, Link manages a few words. 

"Yes. They are there."

 

* * *

 

He has never felt like this before. Twilight has to help him steady his feet more than once as they make their way through the sand. He is trembling, a mix of fear and...excitement? It’s excitement he feels in his muscles, a strange, barely contained glee slowly taking over. He doesn’t like it. He doesnt welcome it. He shuts it out, locks that part of himself away. 

What could make him feel like this? What are the Yiga doing to him? As he and the hero make their way through the empty and silent valley, Link feels the dread set in his stomach. 

He always listens to his guts. Always listens to his instincts. If they tell him to run away, he does it no questions asked. 

 

Except this time. 

It’s not just his life on the line anymore. He isn’t a lonely child wandering in search of somewhere he belongs. 

He is a part of something big. A family of weirdos and freaks. The thought makes him smile, distracts him from the negative feelings. 

He has to get them back. He will get them back. He isn’t alone, he has Twilight with him. 

He feels his next steps hit the sand with more determination and strength. 

They can do this. Defy the evil that threatens to destroy them, and come out of it victorious. 

Despite the aura being the blackest he has ever seen. 

Despite how death reeks in the air. 

Despite this feeling like an invitation, rather than a trap. 

Despite the night filling with streaks of red light.

 

* * *

 

Twilight is growling under his breath. 

His movements are stiff, his eyes wandering across the rooms, taking in every detail, every corner, every possible ambush points. Nothing happens. The halls are quiet, hollow echoes bounce off the walls. The air feels thick. 

There are obvious signs of struggle, obvious signs of people having been here only moments before. The chairs are still warm with the heat of a living being. The embers are still glowing. The food on the tables still fresh and steaming. 

Yet the pair could see no shadows, no fanatics, no movement. 

 

The only way to be certain they were moving in the right direction was Link's growing nausea. The further in they got, the more uncomfortable he became. He could swear something was moving across his skin, crawling and slithering across it. He could feel his body shiver, tremble. Small tremors that grew and grew until he was left shaking and gasping. He had started to sweat, like he had a horrible fever wreaking havoc inside him. 

 

Twilight stopped and pulled them to a concealed corner. 

"Link, I need you to tell me whats wrong." The finality in his voice made Link swallow heavily and look up at him. 

"Please, I need to know if you're ok. I can’t do this when you’re like this. Something is hurting you, and I need to know what."

Concern? For him? When all their companions were missing, being exposed to gods only know what. They could be slaughtered as they sit here wasting time! 

"Im fine." Link replies, voice heavy and choked. He can tell Twilight doesn’t buy it. 

"Please. We need to go," he tries instead. "I can’t let them die." 

"You don’t know if they are dying," Twilight spoke gently, like the truth would shatter them both. 

"I can feel it," Link breathes, leaning on his companion. "The air is so heavy. The aura is pure black. My instincts are screaming, I can’t think. I can’t-" he stops, hanging his head and breathing deeply through his nose. The nausea is back, his head is spinning. His skin is crawling. 

"I can’t lose them, or you," he admits between breaths.

 

Twilight squeezes his arms and leans in, pushing their foreheads together. 

"We can’t lose you either," he admits thickly. "I refuse." 

It's strange. In this horrible place, forced to endure the onslaught of dread and nausea, feeling sure that there was something unspeakable being done here, Link has never felt so loved. 

His travels have shown him how to enjoy life, how to see the beauty in everything and celebrate all that this strange existence of his has to offer. He has been welcomed and given a space in this world by so many people. He had been privileged, blessed by the old gods and granted warmth. 

But none of that even compares to Twilights words of reassurance. None of it compares to the sense of right he feels when he is with these heroes. Nothing compares to the intense love and feeling of belonging. 

 

Nothing compares to how easy it all washes away with a few unwelcoming words.

"That’s so sweet! Trying to poison the saviour with your lies, hm?" a cold and wheezing voice pierce through the halls. 

Twilight is immediately in front of Link, trying to shield him and protect him as pain flashes behind his eyes and his heads feels like it's about to split open. The black is here, flowing from the single yiga in front of them. 

"Come now, don’t be shy," the fanatic coos, like talking to a child. "Rid yourself of this weak appearance, come with us to glory!" 

Link can hear Twilight shout, hears fighting start up, feels himself being picked up and hanging limp in someone else’s hold. Someone shrouded in the black aura. 

He struggles weakly, and is awarded with a pitied sigh from above. 

"You are in so much pain, child. Do not worry, we shall cleanse you of this light." 

Link feels the pain lessen slightly, enough to make him more aware of his surroundings. 

 

They have exited the halls in the mountain, coming into a wide open space in the canyon. The night sky is purple, deep red clouds floating by. He is being carried towards a gathering of people by a large circular hole in the ground. 

And the air is filled with that crushing aura.

He can barely move. His limbs feel heavy and his head feels full. He blinks, trying to regain some semblance of control, but his limbs wont work like they used to. 

The fanatic carries him to the edge of the large hole and places him gently on the ground. 

He can barely breathe. 

 

Link struggles against this visible hold on his limbs, managing to turn over on his side with great effort. He feels sick, coughing and choking. The sight that greets him makes him feel even worse. Like someone had stabbed him through the stomach with ice. 

 

He is lying on an altar.

In front of him are the heroes in various states of tied up and incapacitated. 

Warriors is sporting a bleeding head, arms tied tightly behind him. 

Time is held down by two yiga, struggling when he sees Link, making a third press their knee into his back to quell him. 

Wind and Four are tied together, rope digging into their skin. 

Legend and Hyrule both lie against a stone nearby, barely moving, yet awake. 

Sky is struggling to sit up, swaying slowly to one side, wearing an expression of pain. 

The yiga all but drag a cursing and fighting Twilight, hitting him over the head with a club and laughing as he falls to the ground. 

 

Link feels himself whimper at the sight of them. Is this how it will end for them all? At the hands of insane cultists? His eyes travel down to the stone in front of the circular hole in the ground. 

Blood. 

So much blood. 

 

 _The missing travellers_ Link realises with a jolt, fear building inside him.

He tries to move, desperately wishing to save his companions, the ones who have become such a huge part of his life. 

His limbs tremble, but they do not move. 

A yiga closes in on him, and Link thinks this is it. He will die here. 

The man is wearing more ornate clothing than his fellows, glittering and shining in the cruel light. Their leader?

"My child," he says, voice smooth and warm. "You shall usher in a new era, bringing us into paradise!" 

He leans down and caresses Link's cheek, like a parent would his beloved kin. Link tries to move away, but he can’t, his body isn’t listening to him, growing heavier and heavier with the red light filling the skies.

"Bring forth the first sacrifices," the man commands. Eagerly straightening and even bouncing on his toes when his underlings drag more struggling captives into the canyon. 

Link recognises them, has seen them in Gerudo Town and on the road across the fields. 

Two of his gerudo sisters, and their hylian husbands. Simple merchants and travellers. Innocent people. 

 

The yiga sharpen their knives, and Link is painfully aware of what will happen next. 

A smaller fanatic brings out a strange powder, starting to draw symbols into the stone. They make quick work of it, like they have done this many times before. 

They probably have. 

Link can feel something inside himself stir as he sees the symbols. Something is coming.

 

"No," he manages to force out. The gerudo turn their heads towards him and their eyes widen. They recognise him. 

"Flame vai!" they cry, struggling more, trying to reach him and take him away from this place. Their husbands try to distract the fanatics holding them, trying to support their strong wives. 

Link can feel himself being lifted up by a pair of yiga, his head hanging heavily from his shoulders. His long red hair flowing down from his shoulders and disappearing in the bright red light of the skies. 

 

It’s useless. The yiga are too many. Even the heroes struggling in their bonds wont do anything. 

"Please," Link whimpers. "Please don’t-" 

Silver flashes in the dark, and red spills over the ritual markings on the stone. Four lives ended so swiftly, no one had time to scream. No time to plead. No time to beg for them to be spared.

The ritual circle flashes, the air becoming thicker than ever before, and Link feels something inside him burst. Agony like nothing he has ever felt before rips through him and he screams, voice echoing off the cliffs. There is something deep inside him, moving across his skin, taking hold of everything. That gleeful and excited feeling is back, mixed with pain and fear. 

 

The canyon is still, save for one being curled up on the ground where the yiga have dropped him. The fanatics all stare in awe as their plan has worked. 

Then they start chanting and cheering. 

"The promised time!" they cry. 

"The prophecy of old has been realised!" they shout. 

"The end of Light!" they cheer. 

 

Eight heroes of the past watch in horror as their newest companion, their dear friend and kin, warps and twists in front of them. 

His skin turns a dark pink, veins of malice glowing across his body. His eyes glows a vibrant blue in the night, wide and unseeing. 

His body starts floating as a grotesque cracking sound comes from his back where two arms force their way out of him. Broken pieces of armour appear on his person, and the air around him fills with a promise of darkness. 

 

"The knight of Calamity!" the yiga chant, as Swordblight rises once again, bathed in the red light of the blood moon.

 

He opens his eyes to a red world. The air is so deliciously heavy, thick with malice and power. His power. Curious, last he remembers, he was struck down by the princess and those champions of hers. For all her power, she couldn’t seem to get properly rid of him. That should bode well for his master. 

No matter how many times the goddess struck down the darkness with her golden light, hatred would always remain. Hatred would always return, lying in wait until it could exact vengeance upon the falsely blessed peace and prosperity that Hyrule enjoyed by sacrificing their children. 

 

He remembers well. Swordblight will always remember. The way the hylians had used him. How that cursed sword was seen as a sign that none of those delusional people had to lift a finger. How they were quick to point an accusing finger at him the moment the Calamity arose from underneath Hyrule Castle itself. 

 

Oh, but wasn’t that interesting? How their doom had come from within, from the most sacred place. The place they thought they were safe. The seat of their lies. 

 

Swordblight can feel rage returning just thinking about it. How the hylians had chosen a child to fight their wars for them. How they spread lies about what an honor and how blessed the Hero of Hyrule was. How he was loved by all. 

What a cruel lie to tell a child.

 

He remembers fighting so hard for them. He remembers being left in the fields to die, while the rest of them got to see their families, got to hold their loved ones, got to flee without judgement. 

He remembers being killed while doing his duty, fulfilling his oath. 

 

He remembers the Calamity, striking him through and carrying him away. He remembers being cradled and hugged, feeling safe and loved for the first time since he touched that cursed sword. 

Remembers the Calamity whispering to him, helping him see through the lies. 

He remembers being given power, and a chance to get revenge. To take that which they had taken from him. 

Stability. 

Power.

Free will.

 

He looks around now, having returned after so many years. 

Around him are people, lowering themselves in the dirt in reverence. They all chant and sing his praises. Is this how it feels to be truly appreciated? 

Is this how it feels to live in the world envisioned by his master?

Swordblight isn’t sure if he likes them, these followers. They look pathetic. Weak. 

Useless.

The one with the pretty ornaments crawl closer to him, bowing low and apologising for the long wait.

Swordblight observes this strange man. He is fat, sporting a large, round stomach. 

 _He's got a dumb belly_ is his first thought, before he chases the thought away. 

 

The yiga leader is talking loudly and openly, showering him with praise and loving words. Swordblight knows how empty they sound. The yiga leader is only saying these things out of fear. Rightfully so. Swordblight loves how excited he feels from the mere thought of killing this babbling fool. He wonders if his master needs them, or if he can just end them all. The sight of them makes him sick. 

 

The yiga leader asks him if the sacrifices they have prepared would be sufficient to honor him. 

_Sacrifices?_

He turns towards where the round man is pointing, and he is greeted by eight Hylian men, all looking extraordinary in their own right. 

Something is different about them, he can tell right away.

Their eyes, he realises. 

Their eyes all stare back at him in confusion and shock, yet there is something there. All of them have that same spark. Defiance, courage, righteousness. 

Hope.

He has seen eyes like that before. Eyes so full of pure affection. Eyes that welcome him into the warmth. Eyes that crinkle in happiness as they meet his own.

"Dear knight, which one should we drain of blood first?" the yiga leader asks eagerly, playing with his blade. 

Killing an incapacitated enemy. How utterly pathetic.

 

Yet Swordblight hesitates. He doesn’t speak right away. 

 _They are my precious people_ he can hear a voice say in his mind. 

_They are family. They love me. I love them. I want to be with them so badly my chest hurts._

Who? 

Who was this in his head?

He watches as the yiga leaders words affect the hylians. 

They all glare, readying their bodies for a fight. Some of them snarl, others just give off a calm furious energy. 

All of them stare their potential death in the eye, never flinching away. 

They are...

Swordblight turns towards the yiga leader, who seems delighted that the Knight of Calamity has decided that he is worth his attention. 

"The first one will be you," comes the echoing voice of the corrupted Knight, as glowing hot blades pierce the ridiculously sized stomach. Ancient weapons flicker to life and the massacre begins.

 

Swordblight swings his axe as the memories of these strange brave companions come to his mind. 

_Wind likes playing pranks and he likes leaning on me._

He stabs three fanatics with his long spear, burning them to shreds with the ancient energy. 

_Four is really cool and collected. But he has his moments where it’s easy to make him flustered. Like when I gave him those gems!_

Some of the yiga try to fight back, only to end their lives in a clumsy charge at a being more powerful than the mightiest of lynels. 

_Warriors and Legend fight a lot, but they also protect each other fiercely and they like playing cards with me._

Some of them are screaming at him now. They wonder how this is possible. How he can betray them like this. 

_Sky is a real sleepyhead. He can fall asleep anywhere he wants. He also gives the best hugs and he is really soft! Like Yunobo!_

He remembers Yunobo, huge and soft. 

_Time is scary. But not really. Something he carries has an aura that masks his own. An aura so powerful it can only be divine in nature. Time is very nice, like a dad. I think he would make a great father._

Father, like Vali? Or Bludo. Kass was a great father as well. 

_Twilight... Twilight is like a brother. Someone who cares so deeply but can also throw you in the mud easily._

Did he have any brothers before it all went to hell? He can remember having a sister and a father, once.

_Hyrule's really curious about everything. He sees the wonder in everything around him and he has some pretty cool stories to tell! He is so including and he never forgets anyone. He tries so hard to make sure everyone is alright._

Swordblight cuts down every yiga who dares close in on the eight hylians. Hylians who all share his name, but not his destiny. 

They are heroes. Heroes he was supposed to be. 

Heroes who didn’t fail their missions, who didn’t die before they did their duty. 

 

It doesn’t take long before he can feel himself weakening. The yiga are all dead, lying in pieces, or having been pushed into the circular hole. 

Only one remains, a woman dragging herself across the sands and bleeding out. She is crawling towards him. 

As he readies his spear, she gasps out. 

"Kill them... Before the red moon fades... Become our saviour."

She dies before he can silence her, the only one to die on her own terms in this hell.

Saviour? And then what? Wait for the inevitable betrayal that is soon to follow? He had been promised glory, promised greatness and adoration of the people. Had been promised respect and pride. 

The people of Hyrule, The king of Hyrule, The Calamity. They were all the same. 

Empty promises. 

Using him as a tool, only to throw him aside when he breaks from their misuse.

He feels such rage, such despair. He isn’t sure how to contain it all. Until he remembers his final memory as Link.

His last memory as the Hero of Hyrule, was that of her.

Zelda, swearing this was not the end. Swearing to him that she would heal his wounds and heal his soul. Her voice strong and her eyes filled with burning tears as she loudly swore to him that she would free him, and change everything.

More memories flood him as the heroes shrug out of their bindings.

Memories of waking up in a coffin like structure, feeling completely empty. Of being greeted by wilderness, feeling his very soul being filled with blessings of nature.

Of being blessed by Zelda herself, 100 years after his death. Remembering her looking so happy to see him, yet letting him go, leaving him to his freedom. 

She had given him a title, just for him. A title to show where he belongs. She had not introduced herself as a royal, nor had she claimed ownership of him as she had once in the past. 

She did not even try to claim herself his friend, as she had once been, right before the end. She was a simple old woman with divine powers. And she had blessed him in the name of nature, of _his_ gods, and not her goddess.

 

He remembers the feeling of Vali's feathers brushing over his head and soothing him. He remembers Mipha's smile and laugh as he mastered a move with the spear. 

Remembers Bludo patting him on the back and calling him a good kid. Yunobo hugging him for the first time. 

Kass and his daughters teaching him how to sing. 

Sidon eagerly asking him to join the dive off Shatterback Point.

 

The blood moon turns pale, and he can feel his skin twisting, the pink malice fading away to warm tan. His ancient blades vanish into twilight, and his feet touch the ground.

His knees follow, and he can feel his energy leave him. The memories are too much. He doesn’t understand, doesn’t see how this could have happened to him. He doesn’t know how to feel, and in an instant, he feels alone, lost. 

Forgotten.

 

He hugs himself and feels his chest burn. What does it all mean? 

His vision is blurry, and for the first time since he woke up in that shrine, he truly cries. He lets the tears flow, unable to stop them as sobs tears through his body. Feelings overwhelm him. All the pain, the despair, the dread, the sorrow. He can’t move. It’s too much.

 

Distantly, he feels someone holding him in their arms, soothing him with hushed words of sweet nothings and a hand weaving through his long hair. He leans into the touch. 

Twilight moves, gathering Link in his arms and carries him over to where the others are breaking free of their restraints. Warriors is giving him a concerned look. No, not concern. Worry. Warriors is worried. Link has seen the same look on the faces of fathers, as their children cry over injuries. Has seen the look on Sky's face reflected in distressed mothers. 

Wind and Four are showing sadness and confusion, while Legend and Hyrule wear masks of grim determination, looking around them and taking in every single dead body and counting them.

Yet it’s the look on Time's face that makes Link feel cold in realisation. 

Time's face is one of recognition.

 

Link has not even dreamed of getting to know what had happened to Time, but he wished this wasn’t it. He feels his despair double, and he buries his face in Twilight’s shoulder. 

 

He will take this opportunity to mourn. For his past life as well as whatever had happened to Time. 

He would mourn for Twilight, who stared into the morning sky with such a forlorn look. 

He would mourn for Wind, who should have been at home, playing in the sands of his sleepy island like any other child his age. 

He would mourn for Legend, who had been used by divine powers more than he ever should have. 

He would mourn for Warriors, too young to be a captain of an army. Too young to join a war. 

He would mourn for Four, who always seemed so collected and calm, but could be heard muttering desperately and crying out to his own fragmented mind in his sleep. 

He would mourn for Sky, who should be home with his girl, high up in the skies where he could fly free and be happy. 

He would mourn for Hyrule, who was so terrified of spilling his own blood on the ground. He would never say why, but even a few drops could break his spirit. 

 

He would mourn for these people who have lost everything, who have been used and abused by powers greater than themselves, only to be tossed aside when they are done playing. People who recognise their pain in others. 

Link was more like them that he thought. 

 

He wishes that he wasn’t.


	5. United

The world Link wakes up to is not the same he fell asleep in. A white fog greets his eyes, covering everything in his field of vision. He has the distinct feeling he is lying on his back, but he isn't sure. 

He slowly turns his head, finding himself lying in water. It goes on forever, into the white fog that covers everything. Not too deep as to hinder his movements, or drown him in his sleep. It's calm.

It has to end somewhere. His curiosity takes hold of him, and Link stands up, a strange urge to find the end of the place he finds himself in. There is someone there, someone he needs to find. He can't say how he knows, but he can feel it in his soul.

He walks and walks, never seeing another structure in the fog. There are no trees, no hills, no grass. No desert or mountain, no animals or birds. Just a white fog covering what seems to be an endless room of nothing, waters splashing gently with his footsteps on an impossibly even floor. Link isn’t known for giving up, however. He keeps walking, letting the sound of the waters calm him and emptying his mind.

Time doesn’t exist here. Everything is ageless, everything is nothing. Link wonders how he got here. He can’t quite remember. 

Has he always been here, in this nothingness? Has he always wandered until exhaustion takes him and he falls to the ground, sleeping until he wakes for more wandering, more searching for that aching presence? 

Is this life?

 

He stops, looking down at his reflection. It stares back at him, a dark shape of what he is. He can’t see any features, only a basic outline of what he looks like. The stone underneath is black, reflecting the white fog around him and creating the illusion that everything is purely white. 

Link stares, trying to find answers in his watery shape, but there is nothing.

Slowly, he starts moving again. Where he doesn’t know. Everything is the same, nowhere has no direction, after all. Link thinks his legs about to give in, aching with the strain of countless steps, and then he feels it. A call, resonating deep within his bones. Someone was calling to him. 

 

He closes his eyes and tries to concentrate, but there is no sound around him. The call is a pull on his soul, not an actual sound. 

He lets his legs take him where they wish, trusting that they take him to the one calling him. They always have, no matter the exhaustion. 

Link has always trusted his instincts.

The fog is taking on a new color. Slowly the white fades to a deep red. 

Link keeps walking.

Something is mixed into the fog. Ash? 

Glowing embers and ash are fluttering in the air. 

Link keeps walking.

There is a shape in the fog. Someone is there. 

Link keeps walking.

 

There is sound now. Gentle sounds of water trickling. It grows the closer he nears the shape in the fog. And then, he is out. 

The area clears completely, and the fog is a massive plume behind him. In front of him there is a wall of slow falling water so tall and wide he can’t see its end, nor its beginning. It’s so clear he can see his reflection, however, it’s not his face that greets him in the waters.

 

The reflection has dark pink skin, glowing pink embers flowing in his veins. His eyes fixed in a constant stare, vibrant blues glowing. His body is covered in broken pieces of armor. 

Every move Link does, so too does Swordblight.

 _"Are you the one who is calling me?"_ Link asks, breaking the calm. 

Swordblight mimics Links movements beyond the water wall, reflecting everything in a twisted image. 

 **"Calling?"** he answers.

_"Yes. I could feel someone calling me. Was it you?"_

**"I do not know. What does it matter? Everything is nothing, and none of us are getting out of here."**

Something feels odd. Swordblight isn’t trying to get past the wall. Link thought for sure he would try.

 _"Where are we?"_ he tries.

**"Everywhere, and nowhere. At the beginning and the end. Where you could leave me behind, and keep being used like a tool. Where I can leave you behind, and keep being used as a tool. Nothing matters here, nothing matters there."**

_"You know that isn’t true"_ Link couldn’t believe that was the truth. He couldn’t! Memories flooded him in an instant, and he is met with a burning desire. He has to go back and tell Zelda, Revali, Mipha. He has to tell Bludo and Yunobo and Kass. He has to tell Teba and Riju. They have to know that he remembers, they have to know he doesn’t blame any of them.

**"Do I? Do I know that is not true, little knight? Think about it. What person could love something like me?"**

Swordblight didnt blink, didn’t move, only spoke to his soul, voice vibrating through Link's chest. 

**"I am malice, little knight. I will always be hated, and I will always hate. So long as I exist, Ganon will too. None of those dwelling in that false light will ever let that pass. They cant see how misguided and cruel they become in order to ensure Ganon stays away. They don’t care who gets in the crossfire."**

His voice was growling, increasing in volume, yet the reflection didn’t move.

What was this place? Could it be? 

There was that pull again, stronger than ever. 

Link always trusted his instincts. 

 

 _"You are malice"_ Link spoke, slowly moving closer to the wall of water. Swordblight moved as well, a perfect mimic of Link's movements. 

They reached each other, looking into a twisted reflection of one another. 

Slowly, Link raised his hand and placed it in the water. 

Swordblight raised his hand as well, and Link could feel a hand pressed against his. 

 _"But you are_ _my_ _malice. Your hatred is_ _mine_ _. You were created by_ _my_ _despair and_ _my_ _anger, not Ganon._ _Never_ _Ganon."_

Swordblight looked puzzled, like the idea had never occurred to him. 

 **"You would accept me, even if I am the darkest side of you?"** he tilted his head, breaking the mimicry for the first time. 

_"Yes."_

**"Even if I am the reason everything hurts?"**

_"Yes."_

**"Even if... I am malice?"**

Link wasn’t sure how, but Swordblight looks like a lost child. Like someone who was abandoned in the world. Lonely. 

 _"We are two parts of a whole. You are the dark, and I am the light. Ever since I woke from the shrine, something has felt odd to me. Why was I only experiencing good things? Why was I loved so dearly by everyone I met?"_ Link curls his fingers, and continues. 

_"Why is it fair for me to get all the love, and you all the hate? Why is it fair for us to be split into two, when we belong to one another?"_

 

He reaches for his other hand, delighted when he feels Swordblight grasping it desperately. 

_"We belong together."_

Link leans his forehead into the water, bumping slightly against his dark counterpart's head. 

_"The world is not darkness and light. It’s not black and white. The world is everything, a beautiful mix of it all. The world is whole, and I long to be as well."_

**"We long to be whole."** the echoes of his other half answered, desperate and filled with hope. 

Feeling strengthened, Link closed the distance, and plunged them both past the barrier, into the  unknown and out of purgatory.

**_“We will be whole.”_ **

 

* * *

 

Link is aware of sound. 

Birds chirping somewhere in the distance, the leaves of trees rustling. Clanking sounds from metal nearby. 

Link is aware of smell. 

Musty leather, wildflowers, the smell of rain. 

Link can feel. 

Feel a gentle breeze flowing on his arms. Feel the blanket covering his body and teasing his chin. Feel someone nearby. 

Link opens his eyes.

 

He is in a tent, small and covered in blotches from something its owner has been unable to wash out. An old tent. 

It’s daytime, sun shining through the fabric. Link turns his head to see more, utterly fascinated by this. There are bags placed against the wall of the tent, packed full with gear from all sorts of adventures. Maps sticking out of pockets, rupee wallets lying around. _Stupidly so, obviously I’m gonna take those_ he thought, before shaking his head. That would be wrong, besides he has a pretty good idea who that particularity heavy wallet belongs to. The Captain won’t be pleased if he takes his stuff.

A rustling sound comes from his right, and Link turns his head in time to see Twilight crawl into the tent. He looks exhausted and pale. Probably very worried like he usually is. 

Link waits for Twilight to see him. The man in question stares for a solid 5 seconds before blinking. 

 

Link feels himself smile. "Hey," he whispers, voice hoarse. 

As if broken out of a spell, Twilight dives over to him. 

"Please tell me this isn’t some sort of fever dream," he pleads, hands cupping Link's cheeks. 

"You have a fever?" Link croaked.

Twilight let out a happy sound before leaning down and kissing Link's forehead gently. 

"You're ok. Thank the gods you're ok," he muttered, curling his body closer as if being away from Link would kill him. 

It probably would, who knew how long it had been since Link passed out in the canyon. 

 _Oh gods._  

"How long was I asleep?" 

"You wouldn’t wake up no matter how much we tried shaking you or called out to you," Twilight shuddered. 

"We have been wandering aimlessly for a few days, four at most. I didn’t really count..." 

_Oh gods, four days?!_

"Who... Twilight. This is very important." Link stared up at the older man, who honestly seemed a bit dazed. 

"Who has been cooking while I was sleeping?"

 

Twilight stared into space. 

Ok, so it didn’t matter who cooked, how they were still alive was probably the better question. 

"Help me up, I need to make sure you all haven't gotten food poisoning."

"No, you need to stay here."

"Why?"

"Because Sky is cooking."

"So?"

Twilight squished his face. 

"Because. Sky. Is. Cooking." he repeated, paling slightly.

"Ou nee ta le go of my face" Link squirmed, finding his strength returning to him. He twisted out of Twilights weakening hold and rolled out of the blankets. 

"I’m serious, Link. Sky is cooking and you do not want to go out there right now."

"The hell I do! I need to make sure none of you people burn down the camp!"

 

Twilight made a weak sound of protest as Link burst out of the tent to the most ridiculous sight to date. The remaining seven heroes were all covering behind trees, stones and bushes. Sky was using a pot lid as a shield while whimpering. 

Everyone's focus was on the pot itself, where a purple mass of what can only be described as a blob coming from the pits of hell itself was forming. A tiny gurgle and a hiss could be heard from it and two glowing yellow eyes peeked out of the swirling mass. 

 

Link was almost impressed. 

 

Nevertheless, he needed this thing to be gone. Calmly he made his way over to Sky, who stared at him like he was the second coming of Hylia. Link gently took the pot lid from him, walked across the camp, and unceremoniously placed the lid over the pot, choking the monstrosity to its death as he gave them all a very tired stare. 

The noises died completely before he chose to speak. 

"How the heck you managed to create malice from cooking ingredients I have no idea. Just don’t do it again."

The world was only big enough for one malice creature after all. And Link wasn’t looking for a pet anytime soon.

 

When the excitement had died down, and every Link present had realised that yes, he was awake and no, he wasn’t dead, they all swarmed him and trapped him in one giant pile of hugs. 

Despite feeling annoyed with them earlier, he couldn’t help smiling and hugging back as well as he could, given the fact that he was in the middle and there were eight Links to hug. 

They all calmed down after making extra sure he was really awake and not a strange dream. 

By that time, Twilight had expressed his desire for food, like any normal Hylian person, and Link had demanded hey let him cook for them.

He noticed they were careful around him now. Wind hadn’t tackled him once, Four was slowly handing him ingredients, Legend had even pulled out a wool cloak for him to wear when the sun set in the sky. 

Time and Warriors were patrolling the camp, Twilight and Sky were staring at the pot, stomachs growling, yet never demanding Link move faster. 

Hyrule was the only one who spoke to him normally, like nothing had happened.

"I mean, it was a really cool looking cave, but Time grabbed my tunic before I could go take a look," the young Hylian chuckled. "We need to go back there. Well, if I can find it, that is. I honestly have no map so I don’t know where it was."

"We could always go exploring" Link suggested, watching in delight as Hyrule's face lit up at the idea.

Dinner was eaten in complete silence, much to Link's annoyance. Finally after minutes of silence he set his bowl down and glared. 

"Why are you all acting so weird?" he growled. Legend stared at him, spoon frozen halfway to his mouth. Warriors looked startled, Time had the common decency to blush and look away. Twilight glared back at him, while Hyrule, Sky and Wind all gave him somber looks. 

"Are you sure you're ok?" Four asked from his seat next to Link. "You didn't... I mean. You weren’t ok the last time you were awake. No one would be after..." he cut himself off, biting his lip and moving his gaze to the ground. 

Link could feel his stomach twist. Oh. Right.

 

"I’m..." he began, but found his voice giving out. 

"Not ok," Legend finished for him. "Of course you aren’t ok. Not after what those cultists did." 

He looked angry, but the anger wasn’t directed at Link. 

"Not after what you did to them, either." 

"I... I’m sorry you had to see that" Link answered, for a lack of a better response. It was obviously not the right one. Legend and Warriors gave him a horrified look. 

"What was that?" Warriors asked. "You are too calm. You have to know." 

Link could feel his anxiety rising as the camp filled with demanding eyes. They wanted to know the whole story, of course they did. 

He could feel himself tense. 

What if they hated him after he told them everything? Would they strike him down? Call him a failure? An abomination? Before he could open his mouth and meet their demands, a massive aura made itself known to him. 

Time. 

"He doesn’t have to tell you anything. At least not tonight. If he wants us to know, he will tell us when he is ready." 

His words were kind, calm, patient. His aura was anything but. Link stared at him and tried to determine where this aura had come from. It wasn’t really Time's. Time's aura was a calm honey. It felt secure and warm. This aura was a crushing grey, with teal mixed in. Like flashes of steel in a storm.

 

The camp quieted again, the heroes contemplating Time's wisdom. 

It was deafening. 

"No. I need you to know. I can’t stay with you if you don’t know," he heard himself gasp out. 

Time turned to him, and the storm quieted, giving way to that warm sun that shines from his soul. 

"Are you sure?" he asked, one eye gleaming in the light of the fire. He looked worried for him. _Like dad used to look._

 

"I’m sure. I want you to know," Link said, determination winning over fear. 

"The whole thing with the Yiga, and the blood moon... It made me remember. I used to walk the wilds wondering if I was born into a grown body. I had no memories before waking up in the shrine." He pauses to catch up with his thoughts. 

"I am Link, personal knight of princess Zelda, chosen by the master sword, supposed to be the hero of Hyrule, but..."

He wasn’t sure how to go on. Where had all his courage gone? 

He felt a hand grabbing hold of his own, and looked up to see Twilight giving him an encouraging nod. 

Link took a deep breath. 

"I was... struck down by the calamity. And then I let it twist my mind into becoming Swordblight. I abandoned Hyrule for turning their back on me the moment I touched that cursed sword," he grit out, squeezing Twilights hand. Twilight gave a gentle squeeze back. 

It took Link a few moments just to breathe before continuing. 

 

"I couldn’t see past my own hate. I couldn’t see that the calamity was just using me like everyone else was. Thankfully, Zelda had unlocked her holy powers and the champions weren’t taken by the malice. They defeated me, and..."

It was strange. Seeing their faces go from horrified to concerned. They had all moved closer to him as well, creating a protective circle of heroes around him. 

"I asked them to end it." he managed to force out. 

He could feel Twilight's other hand grabbing his shoulder and pulling him sideways into a comforting hug. 

"The next thing I remember is waking up in the shrine. I don’t know who I am or where I am. I don’t know when I am."

"What happened to Swordblight?" Wind asked him in hushed tones. 

Link decided showing was better than telling, so he held out his arm, willing the malice running through his scars to manifest. 

Slowly, dark pink tendrils slithered down his arm, covering his hand completely. 

"I am Swordblight, and I am Link. Swordblight was created from my hatred towards the world. The darkness in me. But I couldn’t be whole until I had it back. I had to go get it."

Wind gave him a wide eyes look. He seemed frightened at first, but then he leaned his head against Link's lap, purposefully leaning close to the malice covered hand. 

Link can’t remember if he ever told him that Wind is probably the bravest person he knows.

 

Gently he moves the darkened hand, playing with the smaller hero's hair like he usually does. Wind seems to tense for just a moment, before going completely limp, closing his eyes and enjoying the petting. 

Link finds his smile again. 

How could he ever believe any of them would hate him for who he was?

Legend had placed himself closer as well, refusing to move away. Four and Sky were giving him pained looks. Concern. Actually caring about his well being. 

Twilight hadn’t let go of him since he started talking, Time was still wearing that calm and understanding expression on his face, and Warriors had taken off his armor, watching the wilderness for any signs of enemies. He would give Link a quick glance and a small reassuring smile so Link would know he was listening.

 

"I’m sorry I scared you" Link whispered. 

"You better be," Legend snarked. Hyrule made a startled sound. 

"Don’t be so mean!" he punches Legends arm hard enough to bruise. 

"What? He better be sorry! I was terrified for him! I didn’t know if he would wake up at all!"

Where Legend was involved, so too would Warriors be. Link watched as the captain joined the bickering, watched as Time tried to diffuse it and only making it worse. 

"Morons," Twilight huffs. "Honestly, read the atmosphere."

"Its ok," Link finds he doesn’t mind at all. It feels like things are going back to normal after all. Sky is snoring, Four is yawning, and Wind is making pleased noises in his sleep where Link is still petting his hair. 

He leans his head on Twilight, a heavy blanket falling over his thoughts. "Wake me if Sky tries to cook again, yeah?" he yawns, and falls asleep to Twilight chuckling. 

“I will.” 

 

* * *

 

It took a few days before everything went back to normal. Or, as normal as you can expect it to be when you are surrounded by eight past heroes of legend. It was strange. Very good, but strange. Link was used to people being weirded out by him once they knew he was the hero. Like they couldn’t stand to be near him without pushing their expectations onto him. 

These guys, however, were not most people. 

Very far from it, in fact. 

 

Sky had not kept his promise about not making any more food. Or, trying and failing horribly to make food. There had been attempts, all of which had resulted in a mini calamity in the cooking pot. Link actually had to smack him with the spatula to make him stop.

The hero of the skies has been in a brooding sort of mood since then. Link had asked Four if this was normal for the sleepy hero, with the hope that he hadn't hurt his feelings too badly. Four had said that Sky was the least likely to hold a grudge against something so petty. That didn’t make Link feel any better. He had no idea how to approach Sky either. The man seemed so far removed from him somehow. His aura was depressing and glum, and it was almost as if he was avoiding Link.

 

It had been two full days since the last spatula incident, and Link was done playing daycare. 

The moment they had set up camp and Sky had wandered off to be alone, Link had followed, intent on finding out why Sky was avoiding him. He really hoped it wasn’t because he had malice in him.

He found the ancient hero sitting down on a fallen tree, staring at the sword in his hands and muttering to himself. 

Or, not himself. The sword's aura was pulsating, pure white and blinding. It was mixing in with Sky's dull blue, but instead of brightening it, it only made the blue aura seem grey. 

Yeah, that won’t do.

 

Link lets himself be known, making his way slowly and carefully near Sky. He purposefully stops a distance away, crossing his arms and waiting for the hero to speak. 

He does. 

"She misses you," Sky's voice feels like a foggy morning. Its distant to his ears, obscured like something else is in the way. 

"She can keep missing me then," he answers back, tensing as Sky looks up at him with a frustration that doesn't suit him.

"Why? She belongs with you just as much as she belongs with any of us! You're a chosen hero as well."

Link doesn't like how he says it. As if that sword ever belonged with him. What a joke. 

"That's where you're wrong," he speaks softly and calmly. "I'm not a hero. I never was."

 

Before Sky has a chance to protest, Link cuts him off with a strong voice. 

"No. I don't want her. I reject her, and everything she stands for. She doesn't get to choose for me. People have chosen for me and used me all my life. They don't get to do that anymore, Sky."

He watches as the hero before him crumbles. The words are harsh, his tone even more so, but he never wanted Sky to look as hurt as he does now. 

It almost feels as if he was taking this personally.

In a softer voice, Link continues. 

"I don't want to be a hero. I want to be me. I want to be free to do what I feel is right in my heart and soul. I don't need divine shackles to do that." 

Sky closes his eyes, and whispers. "I never meant for her to become that. I never meant for her to force anything on anyone. She didn't either. You can feel her, can't you? She is alive in there, she always has been."

He holds the sword up, gently caressing its hilt. 

"She loves us dearly, you know that. You have to know that."

 

The words mingle with a feeling. A song upon the breeze. Muffled chirps in the fog. 

"If she truly does, then she will understand when I say I don't want her to be involved. She might not have been meaning to hurt me, but she has, Sky. Everything she represents has hurt me." He takes a deep breath, calming his frazzled nerves. "This is my choice. You don't get to guilt trip me for this. None of you do, and especially not her."

He can feel the being in the sword trying to reach out to him. He shuts her out. 

"The sword knows. You can hear her whispering, yes? You can hear her words. She can hear my words. She can understand them perfectly, yet she still tries to pry into my mind. If you have any respect for me at all, stop trying to make me love her."

 

He feels anger seeping in. The presence from the sword hasn't stopped her prying. 

"Sky. I’m serious. She might be good to you, but she is poison to me. She will try to take away parts of me that I need."

"What part? The dark parts? The malice that has infected you? I saw what it did to you! How it broke you down and frightened you in that canyon." 

He looks so horribly scared. Like he had lost some great battle between good and evil. _He doesn't understand._

Link doesn’t blame him. Of course Sky doesn't understand. Maybe none of them do. 

"My parts, Sky. Parts of my soul. I don't want her to break me apart again."

Link feels his voice break. 

"I'm finally whole. Don't put me through that again."

 

Everything stills. The prying presence dissipates. 

"Don't be _them_ . I can't take it if you're one of _them_ . Please, I _need_ you to understand. I need you to _want_ to understand.”

Sky looks shocked. He looks horrified. Slowly, he sets the sword down, leaning it against the tree he is sitting on and carefully, he closes the distance. He reaches out, pauses, and then very gently touches Link's arm.

"I'm sorry," his voice is so gentle. His touch is light, like he doesn't want Link to feel restrained. 

"I have a hard time separating that... malice... from the demon. It felt so much like him that I-" he bites his lip. Shakes his head. 

"No, that's not fair. My past isn't your present, nor is it your future.Things have changed so much that I don't- I can't-"

Sky looks outright distressed.

"I can't keep up," he admits. "All of you feel so far away."

 

The sword is pulsating, emitting a soft light. It seems like it's attempting to calm Sky, but it's soft, comforting glow doesn't reach him. 

Link feels a stab in his chest. There is a deep ache in that glow. A deep love from the spirit in the sword that he himself has never been at the receiving end of. Maybe he never had eyes to see like he does now, maybe she never cared about him before she couldn't have him. It didn't matter.

 

"Sky, listen to me" he demands, moving his hands to grasp the man's shoulders.

He waits until the shoulders stop shaking, waits until the storm inside those normally bright, sunny eyes pass. 

"I might not have felt any love from the sword, nor will I ever feel any love for it. I will keep feeling burdens and heavy shackles whenever I think about my time wielding that blade."

He waits until he sees clarity in Sky's aura.  

"That doesn't mean that you have to feel the same. It's perfectly fine for you to love her, and for her to love you. She means something different to you, and I'm so grateful that she brings you comfort and hope. She cares about you and you care about her."

"She loves you too," Sky mutters softly. He feels calm now, feels like clear skies and light summer breeze. 

He feels like himself again, the person Link has come to love so dearly. 

"That may be so," Link answers. "But I do not love her. I do not need her to be happy, nor do I need her to protect those I love."

He lets go of Sky, and holds his arms out to the side, letting the sun shine on his face, letting the wind play with his hair. 

"I don't need her to believe in myself," he smiles. "Nor do I need her to believe in you."

 

Sky's eyes widen in complete shock. As if no one ever told him something like this before. Maybe they hadn't. 

Link waits until the shock passes, sees Sky work it out in his mind. And then, finally, that soft smile in which he has come to find such warmth and comfort, returning to his world.

"Aaaaaw, that's so sweet!" a voice penetrates the heartfelt moment. 

Both Link and Sky startle, heads whipping around to stare at the intruder. Warriors. 

"That was so sweet! Dear Hylia, I swear I have never seen such camaraderie!" he dramatically posed, holding a hand out to gesture at the two gracefully. 

What a moron.

"Warriors! Don't do that! You startled me half to death!" Sky yelled. 

"I swear to all the gods that if you tell anyone about this-" Link growled. 

"Oh, I’m telling everyone"

"- I'm letting Hyrule cook for you forever."

The horror on the captain's face was the best thing Link had ever seen.

"No, please don't! I’m sorry!"

"Are you? Are you sorry?" Link grinned. He could feel something like an evil glee emitting from his core. 

"Yes I’m so sorry please don’t make me eat the goo!"

"What’s the goo?" Link heard Sky whisper. 

"I'll tell you later" Link lied.

Together they walked back to the camp, a hysteric Warriors in tow. There was a new understanding between them now, and Sky went back to his normal happy self.  
The sword didn’t try to speak to Link again. 

 

* * *

 

Kakariko village was in full bloom by the time the heroes had crossed the country. Soft pink petals flowed in the wind, mixing with all the vibrant colors of the banners and flags hanging from the roof of many tiny houses. Charms swayed gently in the breeze, bells chiming softly across the entire settlement. 

A festival. Must have been a new one, for Link had no memory of this celebration before he was placed in the Sheikah shrine. It just occurred to Link that he had no idea how long it had been since he had been struck down by Zelda and the Champions. 

 _Where does the time go_ , he mused. It didn't matter, however. Of course it didn't matter. There was a festival on, and if the looks on the others faces was anything to go by, they would have fun and not really care about the somber details. 

 

Link feels his spirits lift at the sight of the children playing. He smiles, and watches in delight as Koko and Cottla spot him, eyes widening and grins splitting their faces in half, as they scream his name and run at him. He crouches down, holding out his arms as they come crashing into him, throwing him off his feet and onto his back. He can't help the laughter that explodes from him as the girls giggle and excitedly demand his attention.

"Where have you been?"

"Who are those weird looking guys?"

"Are you going to help Koko make dinner today?"

"Link! The festival! We have to play games!"

Legend grunts. "Weird looking? Me? Surely you mean this guy!" He points at Hyrule, who makes an offended sound. 

"Excuse you!" he yelps, hand on his chest and obviously faking drama. 

"I am the most handsome in the land! I even live in a castle! Where do you live, the dirt?" 

Legend gasped, very overplaying the offence for the sake of the little girls, who giggled harder at the sight. 

" _How dare!_ How dare you!" he yelled. 

"I'm with lost boy over here, you are weird looking" Warriors smirked, watching in great satisfaction as Legend's face twisted into actual annoyance. 

Time heaved a great sigh. 

 

"Girls, it’s not polite to call other people names," Link lectured. He ruffled their hair. "Only I can do that." 

Twilight walked up to them, a soft and kind smile on his face. 

"Who are your lady friends, Link?" he asked. The girls stared at him. 

"This is Koko and Cottla. They live here with their dad," he explained. "Girls, this is Twilight. That weird looking one is Legend."

"Hey!"

"The dumb looking city boy is Warriors"

"What now?"

"The simple looking one is Hyrule."

"Fair."

"The small one is Wind."

A scoff. 

"And the other small one is Four."

"Damn straight."

"The one with the nice smile is Sky."

"Hello!"

"And the dad is Time."

"Wh- dad?"

 

Both Sheikah girls buried their tiny bodies as close to Link's chest as they could and stares up at the other men behind him. 

"Hello," they said meekly, all bravado gone. Maybe it was a little overwhelming for them with eight strangers all armed and looking tired from a long day’s travel. 

Link smiled. "Hey, what festival is this?" he poked them, watching as they shot up in perfect sync. 

"Don't you know?" Koko teased.

"He doesn't know!" Cottla sang.

"You don't know either, do you?" he watched as one sister played it off like she knew an amazing secret, while the other sister showed their true colors.

"No," Cottla muttered. "But papa knows! Papa knows everything!"

"I’m sure he does. I'll go find him. I'll catch up with you two later, ok? I need to talk to some grown ups about something."

"But grown ups are boring!"

"Yes, they are. But I have to get the boring talk over with so I can have enough time to play with you."

"Well... he does make a good point, Koko."

"He sure does, Cottla. Alright, but you must promise to play with us later!"

"Yes, I promise."

"Pinky promise!"

Link knelt down, channeling all his knightly might, lost so many years ago, and held his pinky out with a grave aura. "I pinky promise." he swore, smiling as both girls wrapped their fingers around his in the ancient, sacred pinky swear.

 

The girls ran off, giggling and shouting, mingling with the other villagers. Link stood up, brushing off grass and dirt from his pants. 

He felt Twilight standing next to him, the others having split up to enjoy the festivities. 

"You're good with kids" the hero chuckled. 

"Kinda like you, huh?" Link smirked, elbowing Twilight in the chest. 

Instead of having the jovial effect he had gone for, it made Twilight gain a thoughtful look. 

"What?" Link felt confused. 

"Nothing, it's probably nothing," Twilight muttered. A soft smile was back. A sad imitation of his previous one. 

Maybe it was best not to pry. 

"I'm going to look around a bit. You alright on your own?" 

Link looked around, seeing every member of their group inspecting stalls filled with various food, chatting with the village girls, or heading to the inn to try and secure a few beds for the night. 

"Yeah, go for it. I'll catch up with you later." He waited until Twilight had disappeared in the crowd before taking a deep breath.

There is no time like the present to shatter someone's reality completely.

 

Breathing deeply, he shuts down the noise around him, focusing on the energy around him. He is looking for a special signature. One that makes him feel safe at night, one that makes him feel accepted and loved. One that makes him feel like family. 

He exhales slowly, completely in control of his being, and opens his eyes. 

Its beautiful.

All the auras of the people around him flow into one big mass of color. Blues, greens, purples, red. Ever flowing, ever changing. Like a colorful nebula. 

He basks in it, lets the feeling of life and joy flow into his soul and calm his nerves. 

He begins searching for that feeling. The bonds his soul has made. He sees them as spectral ribbons, flowing from his chest in several directions. Eleven ribbons dancing in the air.

Eight of them will lead him to his companions. People who share more with him than he will ever truly understand. He knows these bonds, lets them fill him with courage as he follows the last three into the crowd of people. They lead him across the village road, towards a small house with a few seats set up for tired feet and aching backs. 

There are two tall beings standing there, backs towards him. They are talking to a third presence, all their focus awarded to this one being. The one shining with gold.

Link breathes one final calming breath before sneaking up on the big blue Rito, wiggling under his wing and grabbing at his feathers. 

"Vali!" he yelled, grinning in delight as Revali squawks in fright and feathers go flying as he flaps his wings wildly. 

His delight only grows as he realises he has startled Mipha horribly as well. The crimson orca jumps in the air and flings herself to the side, hands up in a combat position. Her eyes widen as she realises who has intruded on their gathering and she smiles widely, sharp teeth glinting in the setting sun. 

"Link! What a wonderful surprise!" she exclaims. 

"That wasn't wonderful, that was horrible!" Revali yells, smacking Link upside the head. 

Link grins up at him. 

"Oh, don't give me that look!" the Rito grumbles, before his composure crumbles entirely and he wraps his wings around his fledgeling.

Link allows himself a moment, burying his face in those warm feathers and enjoying the unconditional love for a few moments more. Before he tells them.

"No fair, I wish for a hug as well" Mipha pouts. Link smiles up at her and lets go of Revali, allowing her to pick him up and press her cheek against his before letting him down. 

"I'm sorry I haven't visited earlier," he began. "I had some... things to take care of."

Slowly, he lets his body turns towards the golden presence, the powerful holy aura bathing everything in divine light. 

 

The lady in front of him is old, frail bones hiding the true might of her soul. 

She is smaller than him now, which is strange. Link always felt as though she was so much bigger than he ever was. If it was his own self deprecating thoughts, or the weight of her status crushing his own, Link would never know. Right now, she appeared to him as a small, weak mortal, harbouring the soul of a goddess.

She looks at him as though she sees all of him, Sees right through his flesh and bones, and stares at his naked soul. She sees all of him, every aspect of him. 

She knows.

 

Before she can say anything, Link kneels down in front of her, startling the remaining Champions. 

"I return to you, my princess," he begins in a soft voice. "Not as your knight, not as your enemy. Not as a tool of the past, nor a subject of your rule."

He feels her surprise, feels Revali's shock and Mipha's disbelief. 

"I return to you, whole at last."

He looks up at her then, taking in the sight of the old woman. The one he owed everything to. The one who gave him the world, the only one who had the courage to take responsibility for everything he had been through in his past life. 

 

Zelda holds out her arms, and Link smiles, embracing her gently. 

"I never thought..." Her voice is anything but frail. It's strong, yet she hesitates. "I hoped you wouldn't have to remember the burdens of the past." 

"They are mine to bear, and mine to learn from. You just gave me the opportunity to do so," he answers, cradling her small body like he held the world in his arms.

 

It feels as though the world has gone silent. He can hear the soul of everything breathe as one. 

"I’m taller than you now" he snarks. He feels Zelda wiggle out of his hold and slap him on the arm. It was clearly a signal for feathers and scales to cover his vision as Revali and Mipha both grabbed him in a flurry of confused yelling. 

"What? You remember? Link, do you remember us?!"

"How is this possible? You were supposed to-"

Just as swiftly as they had grabbed him, they pulled away, a somber mood taking over the jovial one. Link gave them a puzzled look, before directing it over to Zelda. 

"You were supposed to be free of those memories," she begins. "Free of anything restraining you, and free of anything binding you to the past. I didn't want the past to shape your new future."

"It didn't." He can feel their eyes upon him. 

"You gave me a new beginning, but in doing so, you took something from me that I had to get back."

The moment of truth.

 

He holds out his hand, channeling the power of his malice, having gained more control over it in the past weeks. He can hear the sound of metal sliding out of leather sheaths, feel the command of the goddess ordering the blades to be dropped. Felt the divine aura allowing his malice to manifest in her presence. 

"I am Swordblight," he says, repeating to them the same words as he spoke weeks ago to the heroes of old. "And I am Link."

Zelda smiles. 

"You return to us whole," she breathes. "And I am so very happy to see it." 

She reaches for him, wrapping her gold around his malice. Watches as the opposing forces remain where they are, neither bleeding into the other. They remain balanced, in perfect harmony. 

"Are you happy, Link?" she asks. "Did you gain the life you wanted?"

He feels his soul sing in this presence. Completely at ease and finally settled, no restless need for searching, no agony in his heart. 

"Yes," he speaks, feeling his aura wrapping around theirs. "I did."

 

He stays there for a bit, catching up with Mipha and Revali, sharing news and stories of his travels. He tells them about meeting the Gerudo, of how he has been accepted by them. He tells them of the Gorons, and how Bludo had pretty much adopted him. It made Revali's feathers ruffle in jealousy. 

He tells them of meeting the heroes of old, pointing them out in the crowd and sharing embarrassing stories. 

He tells them of the Yiga, of how they forced Swordblight back into this world. How it had been sleeping inside him, along with his forgotten memories. 

He told them how the love of everyone had pulled him through, made him realise that Swordblight was another part of him that he needed to be all he could be. To finally find peace with himself. 

Revali had placed him in his lap and completely covered him with his feathers. Poor Mipha had only managed to grab a hand and held onto it tightly as she listened to his story. 

Zelda listened in calm dignity and understanding, nodding to show she was following his words.

When he was done, he felt as though a weight had been lifted. None of the three had rejected him. It was such a relief.

 

"I was going to ask," he leaned his head backwards, bumping it against Revali's chest and looking up at him. The way Revali had to twist his head to look at him from this angle made him giggle. _Big bird._

"What festival is this? I feel like I should know."

Mipha answered him, even thought he could see how badly Revali wanted to. 

"Link, do you know what today is?"

"No?"

"It's the 3rd in the month of Farore."

The answer made him tense.

"It’s...?"

Mipha smiled gently at him. 

"Happy birthday, Link." 

 

He was staring. He was absolutely staring. He probably stopped breathing too. 

_His birthday._

"I..." Link felt like his throat had dried up. "I don't know how old I'm supposed to turn."

He looked up at Revali, who had realised that he didn't know either. All three of them turned to stare at Zelda, who gave them a glare. 

"Honestly, you people are so forgetful," she tutted. "It's been a century since Revali placed you in the shrine, Link. If my memory serves me well, and it obviously does, you are 17 years old today."

Mipha continued where the former princess left off. 

"This is the Festival of Hope," her voice flowed like a river, soothing his mind. "A festival where we pray for joy and happiness, in honor of the fallen hero, whom we all know and love. The hero who we all forsook." She holds his gaze, golden eyes blazing in the light. "A festival where you are remembered, where everyone will learn to never let anyone else be hurt as you have been hurt. Where everyone knows what their privilege lead to. They all remember you, Link. They know your story. This is all for you. Everyone wished for you to come back."

 

He doesn’t know how to respond. His voice is gone. 

"For a century, little fledgeling," the rumble comes from his back where he is pressed against Revali's chest. "We never stopped caring."

Link looks up at him, his eyes wide in wonder. 

He feels himself blink the shock out, and he opens his mouth to speak. 

"Holy shit, I’m an adult."

The most unladylike snort comes from Zelda. 

"Welcome to hell."

 

Revali rumbles with pride, pecking Link's head affectionately as Mipha groans and complains about what an insensitive dumbass he is. "Here I am, reaching my soul out to you, and you respond like that?! Just like when we were kids!"

She rubs her fins in annoyance. "Oh, why couldn't the gods have graced you with a more tactful tongue instead of that disaster!"

"I'm sorry! You know I’m awkward!" Link laughs.

The Zora princess sighs and shakes her head, her tail flowing gracefully. Everything about her is grace, Link muses. 

"You're hopeless," she smiles. 

 

Link is about to snark back at her, but he suddenly feels the weight of two very demanding children. 

"Play now! You had your boring adult talk!"

"Alright, alright!" he laughs, letting Koko and Cottla drag him off to the festival games. 

He turns one last time to give the three his most loving smile. His heart soars when he sees them return it, with just as much love and adoration.

Finally, he is whole.

 

* * *

 

They have had a couple of insane weeks, Twilight thinks, as he watches the fishing lure bob gently in the calm water. The day is calm, a rare treat for the group. Time and Warriors had made the executive decision to have a day off from travelling, and the rest of them had breathed out a tired sigh and settled into a calm rest. Even their newest addition had taken the opportunity to rest, even if he was used to long days of travelling. Link had grabbed Wind, and immediately settled in a soft bundle of blankets and fell asleep with the small sailor in his arms. Wind had smiled and cuddled close. Then he too had fallen asleep. 

 

The rest had gone off to do their own thing, though never going far from the others. Time had taken off all his armor and decided to sunbathe in the tall grass. He was lying on his back, limbs spread out like he was a child. He wore a small content smile, so no one bothered him. Warriors and Legend had immediately pulled Sky into a card game, and Four had decided to keep an eye on Hyrule, lest he wandered off to gods only knows where. Twilight decided to do what he always did when he was relaxing. Fishing. 

 

He thought back to the last few weeks, in which they had walked away from a new Hyrule with a new member joining their little family.

Link had told them about his past once he remembered, and had told them that the festival they had attended was held on his birthday. Apparently the guy was only just turning 17. Or, 117 as Wind had demanded, until suffering a noogie from Link. "I'm not your grandpa, hell no."

It was insane how many of them had been put through these quests by the demand of divine beings and the people of Hyrule. All of them were so young when they started. Twilight found the thought confusing. It made his head hurt. 

 

"What are you doing?" comes a voice from behind him. 

Twilight turns to see Link staring at him, his long bright red hair braided in twin braids that hangs over his shoulders. He wears a gentle smile, completely relaxed in the silent camp. 

"I'm fishing, see?" 

He turns to show Link, who moves to stand next to where he is sitting, intrigued by the fishing rod. Almost as if he had never seen one before. 

"You place some bait on the lure, and then you wait until the fish bites."

Link stares at the lure, bobbing silently in the water. "It doesn't seem very efficient," he comments softly. 

"Really? How do you catch fish, then?" 

 

Twilight regrets asking that question.

 

Link's face lights up in a way that can only spell trouble. His eyes widen, and there is a glint in them that Twilight doesn’t like. The smile that stretches slowly from ear to ear makes it worse. 

"No, wait," he tries to damage control, but it is too late. 

Link chuckles darkly as his arms darken with malice, two extra arms springing from his back. A bright blue light follows, and all four hands are holding onto searing weapons made from pure energy. 

Dear Hylia, were those bombs?!

"This is how you fish in the wilds!" Link yelled, startling the entire camp awake as he plunged the weapons into the water, explosions sending steam and fish flying into the air. 

"What the hell, Link! You absolute wildling!" Twilight screamed in terror and absolute outrage. “What do you think you’re doing?!”

"Catching fish the right way!" Link shrieked with laughter. 

 

"Wild." Legend declared, after everything had calmed down and Link had gotten an earful from Time. "His name is Wild now. No take backs." 

Wild grinned back, chuckling as he seared some of his ill gotten fishy gains. 

Yeah, that name suited the little bastard perfectly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading my first completed multi chaptered fic.  
> Thank you for all for your lovely comments and kudos.  
> Thank you for bookmarking and thank you for sticking with this story until it's end. 
> 
> This has been a lot of fun to write, and the comments have brought me a lot of joy and encouraged me to continue writing.


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